What does "inheritance" mean in Object-oriented programming?

In object-oriented programming, "inheritance" refers to the mechanism by which a new class, known as a child or subclass, can derive properties and behaviors (attributes and methods) from an existing class, known as a parent or superclass. This allows for code reusability, where common functionality can be defined in a base class and then extended or modified in derived classes.

For example, if you have a class called "Animal," you could create a subclass called "Dog" that inherits attributes like "species" from "Animal" while also adding specific behaviors or attributes that are unique to dogs. This hierarchical relationship enables developers to create more modular and organized code structures, promoting efficiency and maintainability in software design.

The other choices do not accurately describe inheritance in the context of object-oriented programming. Compiling code, converting data types, and optimizing code speed are all important concepts in programming, but they do not pertain specifically to the idea of inheritance.