Technology Fundamentals
Polymorphism
Definition
Polymorphism is a concept in object-oriented programming that allows objects of different classes to be treated as objects of a common superclass. It means "many forms" and refers to the ability of a method or object to take on different forms.
Why It Matters
Polymorphism allows for more flexible and decoupled code. You can write code that works with a general type (like `Animal`) without needing to know the specific type (like `Dog` or `Cat`) at runtime.
Contextual Example
You can have a function `makeAnimalSound(animal)`. You could pass it a `Dog` object and it would bark, or pass it a `Cat` object and it would meow. The function works with any object that is a type of `Animal`, and the object itself knows how to perform the correct action.
Common Misunderstandings
- Polymorphism is often implemented through inheritance and method overriding (where a child class provides its own version of a parent class's method).
- It is one of the four fundamental principles of OOP.