Java Inheritance Tutorial — Learn Inheritance in Java

Java Tutorial: Inheritance

Extend classes with extends, use super, override methods, understand the Object class, and build class hierarchies.

Build on what exists

Inheritance lets you create specialised versions of existing classes — inheriting all their code and adding or changing what's different.

`AdminUser` extends `User`: it gets everything User has for free, then adds admin-specific capabilities. This eliminates massive code duplication in real applications.

What you'll learn in this Java inheritance tutorial

This interactive Java tutorial has 6 hands-on exercises. Estimated time: 20 minutes.

extends — inherit everything — `class Child extends Parent` gives Child all of Parent's fields and methods for free.
super() — parent constructor — When a child class defines its own constructor, it **must** call `super(...)` as the first statement.
@Override — replace the parent method — `@Override` replaces a parent method with a new implementation.
instanceof and casting — `instanceof` checks if an object is of a given type — including parent types.
final and abstract classes — - `final class` — cannot be extended (String is final!)
Build a vehicle hierarchy — Final challenge — no starter code.

Java Inheritance concepts covered

Build on what exists

Java Tutorial: Inheritance

Extend classes with extends, use super, override methods, understand the Object class, and build class hierarchies.

Build on what exists

Inheritance lets you create specialised versions of existing classes — inheriting all their code and adding or changing what's different.

`AdminUser` extends `User`: it gets everything User has for free, then adds admin-specific capabilities. This eliminates massive code duplication in real applications.

What you'll learn in this Java inheritance tutorial

This interactive Java tutorial has 6 hands-on exercises. Estimated time: 20 minutes.

extends — inherit everything — `class Child extends Parent` gives Child all of Parent's fields and methods for free.
super() — parent constructor — When a child class defines its own constructor, it **must** call `super(...)` as the first statement.
@Override — replace the parent method — `@Override` replaces a parent method with a new implementation.
instanceof and casting — `instanceof` checks if an object is of a given type — including parent types.
final and abstract classes — - `final class` — cannot be extended (String is final!)
Build a vehicle hierarchy — Final challenge — no starter code.

Java Inheritance concepts covered

Build on what exists