Understanding Polymorphism in Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) is a powerful paradigm that allows developers to model real-world entities in software by organizing code into objects. One of the key principles that make OOP flexible and efficient is polymorphism. Polymorphism, derived from the Greek words "poly" (many) and "morphos" (forms), enables objects of different types to be treated as objects of a common type. This concept plays a crucial role in enhancing code reusability, flexibility, and maintainability. Polymorphism Fundamentals: At its core, polymorphism allows objects to be treated as instances of their base class rather than their actual derived class. This is achieved through two main mechanisms: compile-time (static) polymorphism and runtime (dynamic) polymorphism. Compile-time Polymorphism: Also known as method overloading, this form of polymorphism occurs when multiple methods in the same class have the same name but differ in their parameter types or number of parameters. ...