What is super()?

The super() function in Python is used to call methods from a parent class inside a child class.

It's mostly used in inheritance when:

• You want to call a parent class’s constructor (__init__()).
• You want to reuse code from the parent class.

Syntax

super().method_name(arguments)

Example 1: Using super() to Call Parent Constructor

class Person:
   def __init__(self, name):
       self.name = name
       print("Person constructor called")
class Student(Person):
   def __init__(self, name, roll):
       super().__init__(name)
       self.roll = roll
       print("Student constructor called")
s = Student("Simran", 101)
print(s.name)
print(s.roll)

Output:

Person constructor called
Student constructor called
Simran
101

Explanation:

• super().__init__(name) calls the __init__ of Person.
• This initializes name in the base class.
• Then roll is added in the child class.

Example 2: Call Parent Method from Child

class A:
   def show(self):
       print("Class A")
class B(A):
   def show(self):
       super().show()
       print("Class B")
b = B()
b.show()

Output:

Class A
Class B

Explanation:

• super().show() inside class B calls A’s show() method before continuing.

Example 3: Multiple Inheritance with super()

class Base:
   def show(self):
       print("Base")
class Left(Base):
   def show(self):
       super().show()
       print("Left")
class Right(Base):
   def show(self):
       super().show()
       print("Right")
class Derived(Left, Right):
   def show(self):
       super().show()
       print("Derived")
d = Derived()
d.show()

Output:

Base
Right
Left
Derived

Explanation:

• Python uses Method Resolution Order (MRO) to decide which super() call to resolve.
• You can view it with print(Derived.__mro__).

When to Use super()