What are the differences between extensions and inheritance in programming?

What are the differences between extensions and inheritance in programming?

Extensions and inheritance are both ways to add functionality to classes, but they differ in their approach. Inheritance allows a class to inherit properties and methods from a parent class, creating a parent-child relationship. Extensions, on the other hand, allow you to add new functionality to existing classes without modifying them, often used in languages like Swift.

Can you give an example of each?

Sure! For inheritance, consider a class Animal and a subclass Dog that inherits from Animal. The Dog class can use properties and methods from Animal. For extensions, in Swift, you might have a class String and you can create an extension to add a method like isPalindrome() to it, enhancing its functionality without altering the original class.

Which one is better to use?

It depends on the situation. Use inheritance when you want to create a clear hierarchy and share behavior among classes. Use extensions when you want to add functionality to existing classes without modifying them, which promotes better code organization and reusability.

Are there any drawbacks to using either?

Yes, inheritance can lead to tight coupling and complexity if overused, making the code harder to maintain. Extensions can sometimes lead to confusion if overused, as it may not be clear where certain methods are defined, especially in large codebases.