What are the advantages of single vs multiple inheritance?

What are the advantages of single vs multiple inheritance?

Single inheritance allows for a simpler class hierarchy, making it easier to understand and maintain. Multiple inheritance can provide more flexibility by allowing a class to inherit features from multiple parent classes.

Can you give me an example of single inheritance?

Sure! In single inheritance, if you have a class Animal and a class Dog that inherits from Animal, Dog will have all the properties and methods of Animal.

What about multiple inheritance? How does that work?

In multiple inheritance, a class can inherit from more than one parent class. For example, if you have classes Bird and Swimmer, a class Penguin could inherit from both, gaining features from both parent classes.

What are the potential downsides of multiple inheritance?

One downside is the complexity it introduces, such as the diamond problem, where a class inherits from two classes that have a common ancestor, leading to ambiguity.