Inheritance is the process of inheriting all the features from a class. The advantages of inheritance are reusability of code and accessibility of variables and methods of the super class by subclasses.

In Java, inheritance is a mechanism that allows one class to inherit the properties and behaviors (fields and methods) of another class. The class that is being inherited is called the superclass or parent class, and the class that inherits from it is called the subclass or child class.

Advantages of Inheritance in Java:

Code Reusability: Inheritance promotes code reuse by allowing the subclass to inherit the attributes and methods of the superclass. This means that you can use and extend existing classes, reducing the need to rewrite code.
Method Overriding: Subclasses can provide a specific implementation of a method that is already defined in the superclass. This allows for the customization of behavior in the subclass.
Polymorphism: Inheritance supports polymorphism, which means that a subclass can be treated as an object of its superclass. This enables more flexibility and extensibility in your code.
Logical Organization: Inheritance helps in organizing classes in a logical hierarchy. Common properties and behaviors are grouped together in the superclass, and specific features are added in the subclasses.
Easier Maintenance: When changes are made to the superclass, these changes automatically reflect in the subclasses. This simplifies maintenance and updates, as modifications need to be made in fewer places.

It’s important to note that proper and thoughtful use of inheritance is crucial to avoid issues like tight coupling and to maintain a clear and understandable class hierarchy. Additionally, Java supports single inheritance for classes, meaning a class can extend only one superclass, but it supports multiple inheritance through interfaces.