Inheritance in C++

Inheritance in C++ — a practical guide to C++ inheritance with clear examples you can reuse in real projects.

C++ Tutorial Series (57/111). Prefer one article? Read the complete C++ tutorial.

Short description

Prefer public inheritance for is-a relationships; favor composition often.

Inheritance

class Animal {
public:
    virtual ~Animal() = default;
    virtual void speak() const = 0;
};

class Dog : public Animal {
public:
    void speak() const override { std::cout << "Woofn"; }
};