What is inheritance and how is it applied in OOP?

Inheritance is a fundamental principle in Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) that allows one class to inherit properties and methods from another class.

Inheritance is a mechanism that promotes code reusability and is a way to form new classes using classes that have already been defined. The newly formed classes are called derived classes, and the classes that the derived classes are based on are called base classes. Important benefits of inheritance are that it represents real-world relationships well, it provides reusability of code, and it is transitive in nature, which means that if class B inherits from another class A, then all the subclasses of B would automatically inherit from class A.

In OOP, the concept of inheritance provides the idea of reusability. This means we can add additional features to an existing class without modifying it. We can create a new class, inherit the useful properties and methods from the base class, and add new ones as needed. The new class is known as a derived class or child class, and the one from which it inherits is called the base class or parent class.

Inheritance is applied in OOP through a variety of programming languages such as Java, C++, Python, etc. For instance, in Java, a class uses the 'extends' keyword to inherit the properties and methods of another class. In Python, the derived class is placed inside parentheses in the class definition to inherit properties and methods from the base class.

Inheritance allows programmers to create classes that are built upon existing classes, and it enables a class to inherit the characteristics of another class, adding to its functionality. It's a significant advantage when managing and organising code in large software development projects. The concept of inheritance supports the OOP principle of 'DRY' (Don't Repeat Yourself), as it reduces the amount of code that needs to be written by reusing properties and methods from existing classes.

In summary, inheritance is a powerful tool in OOP that helps to increase the efficiency of code production and management. It is a fundamental concept that every computer science student should understand and apply effectively.