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Polymorphism is a concept in object-oriented programming that allows objects to be treated as instances of their parent class, enabling a single interface to represent different types. The term "polymorphism" is derived from Greek words meaning "many shapes," which aptly describes its ability to take on multiple forms.
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Polymorphism
Compile-time (or Static) Polymorphism: This is achieved through method overloading, where multiple methods share the same name but have different parameters. The correct method to invoke is determined at compile-time based on the method signature.
Run-time (or Dynamic) Polymorphism: This is achieved through method overriding, where a subclass provides a specific implementation for a method that is already defined in its superclass. The correct method to invoke is determined at run-time based on the object's actual class.
Polymorphism is a fundamental concept in programming, particularly within the paradigm of object-oriented programming (OOP). It describes the ability of different objects to be accessed through the same interface, allowing for different underlying forms (data types) to be manipulated in a uniform manner.
Conceptual Overview:
Polymorphism comes from Greek words meaning "many forms."
It allows objects of different classes to be treated as objects of a common superclass.
The specific form or class of an object is less important than the fact that it has the interface expected; the details of its actual type can remain hidden.
Types of Polymorphism:
Ad-hoc Polymorphism: This is achieved through function overloading or operator overloading.
Parametric Polymorphism: This allows a function or a data type to be written generically, so it can handle values identically without depending on their type. This is often used in generic programming.
Subtype Polymorphism (or Inclusion Polymorphism): This is the form most commonly referred to as "polymorphism" in OOP. It allows a function to use objects of different types at different times, depending on the type of the object it is referencing at that time.
In Object-Oriented Programming:
Method Overriding: In OOP, polymorphism often involves a superclass and one or more subclasses. A method in a subclass can override a method in the superclass. This means that the version of the method that gets invoked is determined by the object's runtime type.
Interface Implementation: An interface defines a set of methods that can be implemented by any class, from any inheritance tree. A class that implements an interface promises to provide the behavior published by that interface.
Practical Example:
Consider a simple class hierarchy where a superclass Shape has a method draw(). Subclasses like Circle, Square, and Triangle each implement draw() differently. If you have a list of Shape objects, you can iterate over them and call draw() on each one, and the correct version of the method is called for each object, whether it's a Circle, Square, or Triangle.
Real-world Analogy
Imagine a simple video game with different types of characters like warriors, archers, and mages. Each character type has a unique way of attacking: warriors might use swords, archers use bows and arrows, and mages use magic spells. However, from the game's perspective, they are all game characters and can perform an "attack" action.
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