13.5 Multiple inheritance and mixin classes

Learning objectives

By the end of this section you should be able to

Construct a class that inherits from multiple superclasses.
Identify the diamond problem within multiple inheritance.
Construct a mixin class to add functionality to a subclass.

Multiple inheritance basics

Multiple inheritance is a type of inheritance in which one class inherits from multiple classes. A class inherited from multiple classes has all superclasses listed in the class definition inheritance list. Ex: class SubClass(SuperClass_1, SuperClass_2).

Concepts in Practice

Implementing multiple inheritance

Consider the program:

class A:
  def __init__(self, a_attr=2):
    self.a_attr = a_attr

class B:
  def __init__(self, b_attr=4):
    self.b_attr = b_attr

class C(A, B):
  def __init__(self, a_attr=5, b_attr=10, c_attr=20):
    A.__init__(self, a_attr)
    B.__init__(self, b_attr)
    self.c_attr = c_attr

b_inst = B(2)
c_inst = C(1, 2)

The diamond problem and mixin classes

Multiple inheritance should be implemented with care. The diamond problem occurs when a class inherits from multiple classes that share a common superclass. Ex: Dessert and BakedGood both inherit from Food, and ApplePie inherits from Dessert and BakedGood.

A conceptual diagram illustrating a classification hierarchy. 'ApplePie' is shown as a subtype of both 'Dessert' and 'BakedGood', which in turn are both subtypes of 'Food'. — **Figure 13.2** **The diamond problem.** If both `Dessert` and `BakedGood` override a `Food` method, the overridden `Food` method that `ApplePie` inherits is ambiguous. Thus, diamond shaped inheritance should be avoided.

Mixin classes promote modularity and can remove the diamond problem. A mixin class:

Has no superclass
Has attributes and methods to be added to a subclass
Isn't instantiated (Ex: Given MyMixin class, my_inst = MyMixin should never be used.)

Mixin classes are used in multiple inheritance to add functionality to a subclass without adding inheritance concerns.

Concepts in Practice

Creating a mixin class

The following code isn't correct, as not all plants are carnivorous. Follow the programmer through the programmer's edits to improve the program. Note: Rose, Pitcher, and VenusFlyTrap represent plants that all photosynthesize. Pitcher and VenusFlyTrap represent plants that are also carnivorous and can eat.

A pass statement is used in Python to indicate that code is to be written later and prevents certain errors that would result if no code was written or a comment was used instead.

class Plant:
  def photosynth(self):
    print("Photosynthesizing")

  def eat(self):
    print("Eating")

class Rose(Plant):
  pass

class Pitcher(Plant):
  pass

class VenusFlyTrap(Plant):
  pass

Try It

Fixing the diamond problem with a mixin class

The program below represents multiple inheritance and has the diamond problem. Edit the program to use a mixin class, OnlineMixin. OnlineMixin:

Replaces OnlineShop.
Is a superclass of FoodFast.
Has one method, process_online, which prints "Connecting to server" and is called by FoodFast's process_order.

The output should match:


    Processing meal order
    Connecting to server
    Enjoy your FoodFast order

class Business:
    def process_order(self):
        print("Processing order")

class Restaurant(Business):
    def process_order(self):
        print("Processing meal order")

class OnlineShop(Business): # Change to mixin class
    def process_order(self):
        print("Processing online order")

class FoodFast(Restaurant, OnlineShop):
    def process_order(self):
        super().process_order()
        # Call mixin method
        print("Enjoy your FoodFast order")

franchise_1 = FoodFast()
franchise_1.process_order()

Adapted from Introduction to Python Programming by OpenStax (openstax.org), licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Changes were made. License: CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0.