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An inherited class is called a subclass of its parent class or super class. The term inheritance is loosely used for both class-based and prototype-based programming, but in narrow use the term is reserved for class-based programming (one class inherits from another), with the corresponding technique in prototype-based programming being instead called delegation (one object delegates to another). Class-modifying inheritance patterns can be pre-defined according to simple network interface parameters such that inter-language compatibility is preserved.cite-ref-2[2]cite-ref-3[3]

Inheritance should not be confused with subtyping.cite-ref-cook90-4-0[4]cite-ref-5[5] In some languages inheritance and subtyping agree,cite-ref-6[a] whereas in others they differ; in general, subtyping establishes an is-a relationship, whereas inheritance only reuses implementation and establishes a syntactic relationship, not necessarily a semantic relationship (inheritance does not ensure behavioral subtyping). To distinguish these concepts, subtyping is sometimes referred to as interface inheritance (without acknowledging that the specialization of type variables also induces a subtyping relation), whereas inheritance as defined here is known as implementation inheritance or code inheritance.cite-ref-mikhajlov-7-0[6] Still, inheritance is a commonly used mechanism for establishing subtype relationships.cite-ref-8[7]

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