Class Hierarchy
Class hierarchy is a fundamental object-oriented programming (OOP) concept that organizes classes in a parent-child relationship through inheritance, where a subclass (child) inherits properties and methods from a superclass (parent). It enables code reusability, polymorphism, and a structured approach to modeling real-world entities by creating a tree-like structure of classes. This hierarchy allows developers to define general behaviors in base classes and extend or override them in derived classes.
Developers should learn and use class hierarchies when building applications that require modular, maintainable, and scalable code, especially in OOP languages like Java, C++, or Python. It is essential for scenarios involving shared functionality across multiple classes, such as in GUI frameworks, game development, or enterprise software, as it reduces duplication and supports dynamic method dispatch. Understanding class hierarchies helps in designing robust systems with clear abstractions and inheritance chains.