All 15 Multiple Inheritance & MRO questions
More in Multiple Inheritance & MRO
Why is Python's approach to multiple inheritance considered more powerful but riskier than single-inheritance-only languages? What is the 'diamond problem', and how does Python's MRO solve it? How does super() work in the context of multiple inheritance, and why is it more than just 'call the parent class'? What is a mixin class, and how does it differ from a typical base class in multiple inheritance? How do you call a specific ancestor's method explicitly, bypassing the normal MRO-based super() resolution? How does the built-in `object` class relate to every class's MRO, and why does it always appear last? How can you use isinstance() and issubclass() to check relationships in a multiple-inheritance hierarchy? What's the difference between mixing in an abstract base class (using abc.ABC) versus a plain mixin class? How does the C3 linearization algorithm compute a class's MRO? Why does the convention of listing mixins before the primary base class matter for MRO and method overriding?
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Python › Multiple Inheritance & MRO

What is multiple inheritance in Python, and how does it differ from single inheritance?

Beginner

Answer

Multiple inheritance lets a class inherit from more than one base class simultaneously, combining attributes and methods from all of them, unlike single inheritance where a class has exactly one direct parent. Python supports this natively via `class Child(Base1, Base2):`, unlike languages like Java that only allow single class inheritance (using interfaces instead).
class Flyer:
    def fly(self): return 'Flying'

class Swimmer:
    def swim(self): return 'Swimming'

class Duck(Flyer, Swimmer):
    pass

d = Duck()
print(d.fly(), d.swim())  # Flying Swimming
Real-world example A game engine's Character class inherits from both Movable and Damageable mixins, combining movement and health mechanics without duplicating code across every character type.

Common follow-ups: What problems can multiple inheritance introduce (diamond problem)?;How does Python resolve method lookup order with multiple bases?

Multiple Inheritance & MRO;Magic Methods & Operator Overloading
All 15 Multiple Inheritance & MRO questions