C# Inheritance vs Interfaces: Key Differences

In C#, there are some differences between inheritance and interfaces when it comes to sharing code and extending functionality between objects.

Inheritance:

1. Inheritance is a relationship between classes that is used to create a new class (subclass/derived class) that can inherit properties and methods from an existing class (superclass/base class).
2. Subclasses have access to the public and protected members of the parent class, as well as inherit the behavior and state of the parent class.
3. A class can only inherit from one parent class, which is known as single inheritance.

Interface:

1. An interface specifies a set of methods, properties, and events without providing implementation details.
2. A class can implement one or multiple interfaces to gain access to the behaviors defined in the interface.
3. Interfaces can be used as a form of polymorphism, as a class can implement multiple interfaces.
4. By default, methods in an interface are public, and a class must provide implementations to meet the requirements of the interface.

Summary:

1. Inheritance is used to establish hierarchical relationships between classes, where subclasses inherit attributes and methods from their parent class and can customize functionality by extending or overriding methods.
2. Interfaces are used to define the behavior specifications of a class, with a class being able to implement multiple interfaces to provide specific functionalities by implementing the methods within the interfaces.
3. Inheritance is a tightly coupled relationship where there is a dependency between subclasses and superclasses, while interfaces represent a loosely coupled relationship where classes only need to adhere to the interface specifications.
4. Inheritance relationships are static and can only be determined at compile time, while interface implementation relationships can be dynamically determined at runtime.