What is the Liskov Substitution Principle in software design?

What is the Liskov Substitution Principle in software design?

The Liskov Substitution Principle states that objects of a superclass should be replaceable with objects of a subclass without affecting the correctness of the program.

Can you give me an example of this principle in action?

Sure! Imagine you have a class Bird with a method fly(). If you create a subclass Penguin that cannot fly, substituting Bird with Penguin would violate the principle. Instead, you might create an interface FlyingBird for birds that can fly.

How does this principle help in software development?

It promotes code reusability and maintainability by ensuring that subclasses can stand in for their parent classes without causing errors.

Are there any common pitfalls to avoid when applying this principle?

Yes, one common pitfall is creating subclasses that don't fulfill the expected behavior of the superclass, leading to unexpected results.