What does 'inheritance' refer to in object-oriented programming?

Inheritance in object-oriented programming refers to the mechanism by which a new class, often called a derived or child class, inherits properties and behaviors (attributes and methods) from an existing class, known as the base or parent class. This allows the child class to reuse code, promote code organization, and facilitate a hierarchical relationship between classes.

When a class inherits from another, it can access the attributes and methods of the parent class, which enhances the reusability of code and simplifies the development process. For example, if there is a class called "Animal" with general properties like "species" and methods like "eat," a derived class called "Dog" can inherit these properties and methods while also introducing its unique characteristics, such as its breed.

This concept promotes the DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) principle, making it easier for developers to maintain and update code by centralizing common functionality in a base class while allowing specific classes to extend or modify that functionality as needed.