What is child theme? Why we used it?

Question

I am trying to do override a function which is inside a class in the parent theme via child theme function. Can someone give me the correct way to override parent theme function via child theme function? Is it even possible on a non pluggable class?

The class itself extends from another class and the base class is pluggable.

class Fre_ReviewAction extends AE_Base --> Class attempting to overrite
----------------------------------
if (!class_exists('AE_Base')) {
class AE_Base --> Base class IS PLUGGABLE?

Answer 1

A child theme is a theme that inherits the functionality and styling of another theme, called the parent theme. Child themes are the recommended way of modifying an existing theme.

The whole idea of a child theme is that you can modify, and add to the functionality of that parent theme without modifying it directly. The parent remains intact, everything is built within the child theme.

But this sounds like additional work, right? Why would you want to play around with child themes if you can simply modify the theme you actually want to modify…?

There are a few reasons why you would want to use a child theme:

1. If you modify a theme directly and it is updated, then your modifications may be lost. By using a child theme you will ensure that your modifications are preserved.

2. Using a child theme can speed up development time.

3. Using a child theme is a great way to to learn about WordPress theme development.

Note:

First of all, if you’re not planning on modifying your theme then child themes will be of no use to you.

But if you do then there are three main benefits of using child themes in comparison to modifying a theme directly.