How is "inheritance" utilized in object-oriented programming?

Inheritance in object-oriented programming is a fundamental concept that enables one class, often referred to as a child or subclass, to acquire the properties and methods of another class, known as the parent or superclass. This relationship creates a hierarchy where the child class inherits features from the parent class, allowing for code reuse and the creation of a more organized and modular code structure.

By allowing subclasses to inherit from superclasses, inheritance facilitates the implementation of polymorphism and encapsulation. This means that a subclass can override or extend the behavior of a method inherited from a parent class, providing specific functionality while preserving the shared characteristics defined in the superclass.

This mechanism is essential in promoting the DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) principle, as it reduces redundancy by enabling developers to define common functionality in one location and leverage it across multiple subclasses. Thus, inheritance serves as a powerful tool in designing flexible and maintainable software systems.