selfinheritance

Self-inheritance is a concept that appears in object-oriented programming. It refers to a situation where a class inherits from itself. In most standard object-oriented programming languages, direct self-inheritance is not permitted. This is because it would lead to an infinite class hierarchy, which is logically impossible and would cause fundamental problems with how classes are defined and instantiated. The concept of inheritance typically involves a clear distinction between a base class and a derived class, where the derived class gains properties and behaviors from the base class. Self-inheritance would break this fundamental relationship.

However, the idea of self-inheritance might arise in discussions about more abstract programming paradigms or in specific design patterns. For instance, in some theoretical contexts, one might consider a class that has methods to modify its own state or behavior in a way that resembles inheritance, though this is not true class inheritance. The term could also be used metaphorically to describe a situation where an object's behavior is entirely determined by its own internal state and rules, without relying on external classes for structure or functionality. In practical programming, when a developer encounters a situation that seems like self-inheritance, it usually indicates a misunderstanding of inheritance principles or a need to refactor the design. Common solutions involve using composition or different design patterns to achieve the desired outcome without violating the principles of inheritance.