How to implement multiple inheritance in delphi?

Use interfaces. Something like this (Off the top of my head, based on your description.....)

type

  IBikeWheel = interface
    ...
  end;

  IXYZ = interface
    ...
  end;

  IFrontWheel = interface(IBikeWheel)
    ...
  end;


  TBike = class
    ...
  end;

  TBikeWheel = class(TObject, IBikeWheel);

  TBikeWheelXYZ = class(TBikeWheel, IXYZ);

  TBikeFrontWheelXYZ = class(TBikeWheelXYZ, IFrontWheel);

Then implement classes for the interfaces that do what the corresponding classes in your old (presumably C/C++) library does and instantiate them in the corresponding class's constructor.

Use polymorhism to implment each 'thing' as an object hierarchy in its own right and then add object properties to that object in turn. So, create a hierarchy of wheels, and a hierarchy of bikes. Then add wheels to bikes as fields in the ancestor bike object. See below.

  TBikeWheel = class
  TBikeWheelXYZ = class( TBikeWheel ) 

  TBike = class
    FFrontWheel : TBikeWheel;
    property FrontWheel : TBikeWheel
      read FrontWhell  

  TBikeABC = class( TBike)
    constructor Create;
  end;

  constructor TBikeABC.Create;
  begin
    inherited;
    FFrontWheel := TBikeWheel.Create;
  end;

  TBikeXYZ = class( TBike)
    constructor Create;
  end;

  constructor TBikeXYZ.Create;
  begin
    inherited;
    FFrontWheel := TBikeWheelXYZ.Create;
  end;

A variation of Brian Frost's suggestion:

  TBikeWheel = class
  TBikeWheelXYZ = class( TBikeWheel ) 

  TBike = class
    FFrontWheel : TBikeWheel;
  protected
    function CreateWheel: TBikeWheel; virtual;
  public
    property FrontWheel : TBikeWheel
      read FrontWheel  
  end;

  TBikeABC = class( TBike)
  protected
    function CreateWheel: TBikeWheel; override;
  end;

  function TBikeABC.CreateWheel: TBikeWheel;
  begin
    result := TBikeWheel.Create;
  end;

  TBikeXYZ = class( TBike)
  protected
    function CreateWheel: TBikeWheel; override;
  end;

  function TBikeXYZ.CreateWheel: TBikeWheel;
  begin
    result := TBikeWheelXYZ.Create;
  end;

Basically - you CAN'T. Delphi does not support multiple inheritance.

So left with that dilemma, the question is: could you possibly refactor that library in such a way that you can get away with using interface? Is the multiple inheritance mostly about functions and methods? If so - use interfaces. Delphi can support multiple interfaces on a class.

If the multi-inheritance is more about inheriting actual functionality in the classes, then you're probably looking at a bigger scale refactoring, I'm afraid. You'll need to find a way to break up those functional dependencies in such a way you can make it inherit from a single base class, possibly with some additional interfaces thrown in.

Sorry I can't provide an easy answer - that's just the reality of it.

Marc

You can try to extract an interface, say IFrontWheel, out of TBikeWheelFront, so that it is a subclass of TBikeWheel but implements IFrontWheel. Then TBikeWheelXYZ inherits from TBikeWheel and TBikeWheelFrontXYZ inherits from TBikeWheelXYZ and implements IFrontWheel.

Then you can define a class TFrontwheel and give it the same methods as the interface, but now you implement them. Then TBikeWheelFront and TBikeWheelXYZ get a private member of type TFrontwheel and the IFrontWheel implementations of them simply delegate to the private member methods.

This way you don't have double implementations.

Another alternative with newer versions of Delphi is to leverage generics in a compositional model. This is particularly useful in the case where the multiple base classes (TBarA and TBarB in this example) are not accessible for modification (ie: framework or library classes). For example (note, the necessary destructor in TFoo<T> is omitted here for brevity) :

program Project1;

uses SysUtils;

{$APPTYPE CONSOLE}

type    
  TFooAncestor  = class
    procedure HiThere; virtual; abstract;
  end;
  TBarA = class(TFooAncestor)
    procedure HiThere; override;
  end;
  TBarB = class(TFooAncestor)
    procedure HiThere; override;
  end;
  TFoo<T: TFooAncestor, constructor> = class
    private
      FFooAncestor: T;
    public
      constructor Create;
      property SomeBar : T read FFooAncestor write FFooAncestor;
  end;

procedure TBarA.HiThere;
begin
  WriteLn('Hi from A');
end;

procedure TBarB.HiThere;
begin
  WriteLn('Hi from B');
end;

constructor TFoo<T>.Create;
begin
  inherited;
  FFooAncestor := T.Create;
end;

var
  FooA : TFoo<TBarA>;
  FooB : TFoo<TBarB>;
begin
  FooA := TFoo<TBarA>.Create;
  FooB := TFoo<TBarB>.Create;
  FooA.SomeBar.HiThere;
  FooB.SomeBar.HiThere;
  ReadLn;
end.

you can try this way, if you do not want to repeat the code several times and want a decoupled code.

type
   TForm1 = class(TForm)
    btnTest: TButton;
    procedure btnTestClick(Sender: TObject);
   private
      { Private declarations }
   public
      { Public declarations }
   end;

   TBike = class
   end;

   IBikeWheel = interface
      procedure DoBikeWheel;
   end;

   TBikeWheel = class(TInterfacedObject, IBikeWheel)
   public
      procedure DoBikeWheel;
   end;

   IBikeWheelFront = interface
      procedure DoBikeWheelFront;
   end;

   TBikeWheelFront = class(TInterfacedObject, IBikeWheelFront)
   public
      procedure DoBikeWheelFront;
   end;

   IBikeWheelBack = interface
   end;

   TBikeWheelBack = class(TInterfacedObject, IBikeWheelBack)
   end;

   TBikeWheelFrontXYZ = class(TInterfacedObject, IBikeWheel, IBikeWheelFront)
   private
      FIBikeWheel: IBikeWheel;
      FBikeWheelFront: IBikeWheelFront;
   public
      constructor Create();
      property BikeWheel: IBikeWheel read FIBikeWheel implements IBikeWheel;
      property BikeWheelFront: IBikeWheelFront read FBikeWheelFront implements IBikeWheelFront;
   end;

var
   Form1: TForm1;

implementation

{$R *.DFM}

{ TBikeWheel }

procedure TBikeWheel.DoBikeWheel;
begin
   ShowMessage('TBikeWheel.DoBikeWheel');
end;

{ TBikeWheelFrontXYZ }

constructor TBikeWheelFrontXYZ.Create;
begin
   inherited Create;
   Self.FIBikeWheel := TBikeWheel.Create;
   Self.FBikeWheelFront := TBikeWheelFront.Create;
end;

{ TBikeWheelFront }

procedure TBikeWheelFront.DoBikeWheelFront;
begin
   ShowMessage('TBikeWheelFront.DoBikeWheelFront');
end;

procedure TForm1.btnTestClick(Sender: TObject);
var
   bikeWhell: TBikeWheelFrontXYZ;
begin
   bikeWhell := nil;
   try
      try
         bikeWhell := TBikeWheelFrontXYZ.Create;
         IBikeWheelFront(bikeWhell).DoBikeWheelFront;
         IBikeWheel(bikeWhell).DoBikeWheel;
      except
         on E: Exception do
         begin
            raise;
         end;
      end;
   finally
      if Assigned(bikeWhell) then FreeAndNil(bikeWhell);
   end;                                          
end;

Sorry, Delphi does not support Multiple Inheritance.

I would like to suggest the following steps:

1. Inherit the TBikeWheelFrontXYZ class from either TBikeWheelXYZ or TBikeWheelFront (since in Delphi multiple inheritance is impossible as mentioned in the answers above).

2. Convert one of the parent classes TBikeWheelXYZ or TBikeWheelFront to class helper for the TBikeWheel class.

3. Add the class helper unit to the unit, where the TBikeWheelFrontXYZ class is declared.