subclassed

Subclassed is the past participle form of subclass, used in object-oriented programming to describe a class that has been derived from another class. A subclass inherits members from its parent and can modify or extend behavior, creating a more specialized type that fits a particular role.

Subclassing establishes an is-a relationship: the subclass should be usable wherever its parent is expected. In languages with explicit inheritance, a subclass can override methods, add new members, and influence runtime behavior through polymorphism. Example in Python: class Vehicle: def move(self): pass; class Car(Vehicle): def move(self): return 'car moves'; car = Car(); isinstance(car, Car) and isinstance(car, Vehicle) evaluate to true. In Java: class Animal { void speak() {} } class Dog extends Animal { void speak() { } }.

Subclasses enable code reuse but can increase fragility of the base class; changes to the parent can affect all subclasses. In languages with multiple inheritance, subclassing can lead to the diamond problem and ambiguity; many languages restrict inheritance or use interfaces, mixins, or protocols to mitigate.

Best practices emphasize careful use of inheritance: prefer composition over inheritance when possible, keep hierarchies shallow, and ensure adherence to the Liskov Substitution Principle so that objects of subclasses remain substitutable for objects of their parent.

Common contexts for subclassing include user interface widgets, data models, and framework components where specialization is required.