In object-oriented programming, inheritance is a mechanism that allows a class (subclass or derived class) to inherit properties and behaviors from another class (superclass or base class). There are several types of inheritance:

1. Single Inheritance: A subclass inherits from only one superclass.
2. Multilevel Inheritance: A subclass inherits from another subclass, forming a hierarchy.
3. Hierarchical Inheritance: Multiple subclasses inherit from the same superclass.
4. Multiple Inheritance: A subclass inherits from multiple superclasses. Note that while some programming languages support multiple inheritance, others, like Java, do not allow it directly due to potential ambiguities.
5. Hybrid Inheritance: A combination of two or more types of inheritance.

Polymorphism, on the other hand, is the ability of objects of different classes to be treated as objects of a common superclass. There are two main types of polymorphism:

1. Compile-time (Static) Polymorphism: Also known as method overloading and operator overloading, it occurs when different functions have the same name but different parameter lists or when operators are overloaded with multiple functionalities.

2. Run-time (Dynamic) Polymorphism: This is achieved through method overriding, where a subclass provides a specific implementation of a method that is already provided by its superclass. This allows a subclass to provide its own implementation of a method that is already defined in its superclass. Run-time polymorphism is achieved using inheritance and virtual functions/methods.

In summary, inheritance allows classes to inherit properties and behaviors from other classes, while polymorphism allows objects of different classes to be treated as objects of a common superclass, providing flexibility and reusability in object-oriented programming.

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