Polymorphism in Java

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Polymorphism in Java


Polymorphism is the capability of a method to do different things based on the object that it is acting upon. In other words, polymorphism allows you define one interface and have multiple implementations. I know it sounds confusing. Don’t worry we will discuss this in detail.

Polymorphism is derived from 2 greek words: poly and morphs. The word "poly" means many and "morphs" means forms. So polymorphism means many forms.

Real life example of polymorphism..!


Suppose if you are in class room that time you behave like a student, when you are in market at that time you behave like a customer, when you at your home at that time you behave like a son or daughter, Here one person present in different-different behaviors.

It is a feature that allows one interface to be used for a general class of actions.
  1. An operation may exhibit different behavior in different instances.
  2. The behavior depends on the types of data used in the operation.
  3. It plays an important role in allowing objects having different internal structures to share the same external interface.
  4. Polymorphism is extensively used in implementing inheritance.
  5. Following concepts demonstrate different types of polymorphism in java.



How to achieve Polymorphism in Java ?
In java programming the Polymorphism principal is implemented with method overriding concept of java.
Polymorphism principal is divided into two sub principal they are:



1) Method Overloading  or Compile Time Polymorphism
2) Method Overriding   or  Run Time Polymorphism

What is a Method Definition:

A method is a set of code which is referred to by name and can be called (invoked) at any point in a program simply by utilizing the method’s name.

I. Method Overloading
   If with in a one class more than one same Method name exit in the sense its called Method overloading or compil time polymorphism.

Example of Method Overloading :

By changing the no. of arguments
In this example, we have created two overloaded methods, first sum method performs addition of two numbers and second sum method performs addition of three numbers.

1.       class Calculation{  
2.         void sum(int a,int b){System.out.println(a+b);}  
3.         void sum(int a,int b,int c){System.out.println(a+b+c);}  
4.         
5.         public static void main(String args[]){  
6.         Calculation obj=new Calculation();  
7.         obj.sum(10,10,10);  
8.         obj.sum(20,20);  
9.         
10.      }  
11.    }  
 

Output:30
       40


Example of Method Overloading:

By changing data type of argument

In this example, we have created two overloaded methods that differs in data type. The first sum method receives two integer arguments and second sum method receives two double arguments
.
1.       class Calculation2{  
2.         void sum(int a,int b){System.out.println(a+b);}  
3.         void sum(double a,double b){System.out.println(a+b);}  
4.         
5.         public static void main(String args[]){  
6.         Calculation2 obj=new Calculation2();  
7.         obj.sum(10.5,10.5);  
8.         obj.sum(20,20);  
9.         
10.      }  
11.    }  

 

Output:21.0
       40

Why Method Overloaing is not possible by changing the return type of method?

In java, method overloading is not possible by changing the return type of the method because there may occur ambiguity. Let's see how ambiguity may occur:
because there was problem:

1.       class Calculation3{  
2.         int sum(int a,int b){System.out.println(a+b);}  
3.         double sum(int a,int b){System.out.println(a+b);}  
4.         
5.         public static void main(String args[]){  
6.         Calculation3 obj=new Calculation3();  
7.         int result=obj.sum(20,20); //Compile Time Error  
8.         
9.         }  
10.    }  

Result : int result=obj.sum(20,20); //Here how can java determine which sum() method should be called


Can we overload main() method?

Yes, by method overloading. You can have any number of main methods in a class by method overloading. Let's see the simple example:
1.       class Overloading1{  
2.         public static void main(int a){  
3.         System.out.println(a);  
4.         }  
5.           
6.         public static void main(String args[]){  
7.         System.out.println("main() method invoked");  
8.         main(10);  
9.         }  
10.    }  

 

Output:main() method invoked
       10

Advantage of method overloading?

Method overloading increases the readability of the program.
Different ways to overload the method

There are two ways to overload the method in java
  1. By changing number of arguments
  2. By changing the data type

Rules for Method Overloading
1.     Overloading can take place in the same class or in its sub-class.
2.     Constructor in Java can be overloaded
3.     Overloaded methods must have a different argument list.
4.     Overloaded method should always be the part of the same class(can also take place in sub class), with same name but different parameters.
5.     The parameters may differ in their type or number, or in both.
6.     They may have the same or different return types.
7.     It is also known as compile time polymorphism.

II.Method Overriding
Child class has the same method as of base class. In such cases child class overrides the parent class method without even touching the source code of the base class. This feature is known as method overriding.
Example:
 Runtime polymorphism or Dynamic Method Dispatch is a process in which a call to an overridden method is resolved at runtime rather than compile-time.
In this process, an overridden method is called through the reference variable of a superclass. The determination of the method to be called is based on the object being referred to by the reference variable.

Upcasting
When reference variable of Parent class refers to the object of Child class, it is known as upcasting. 

1.     class A{}  
2.     class B extends A{}  
A a=new B();//upcasting


Real example of Java Runtime Polymorphism
Consider a scenario, Bank is a class that provides method to get the rate of interest. But, rate of interest may differ according to banks. For example, SBI, ICICI and AXIS banks could provide 8%, 7% and 9% rate of interest.



1.     class Bank{  
2.     int getRateOfInterest(){return 0;}  
3.     }  
4.       
5.     class SBI extends Bank{  
6.     int getRateOfInterest(){return 8;}  
7.     }  
8.       
9.     class ICICI extends Bank{  
10.                        int getRateOfInterest(){return 7;}  
11.                        }  
12.                        class AXIS extends Bank{  
13.                        int getRateOfInterest(){return 9;}  
14.                        }  
15.                          
16.                        class Test3{  
17.                        public static void main(String args[]){  
18.                        Bank b1=new SBI();  
19.                        Bank b2=new ICICI();  
20.                        Bank b3=new AXIS();  
21.                        System.out.println("SBI Rate of Interest: "+b1.getRateOfInterest());  
22.                        System.out.println("ICICI Rate of Interest: "+b2.getRateOfInterest());  
23.                        System.out.println("AXIS Rate of Interest: "+b3.getRateOfInterest());  
24.                        }  
25.                        }  

 



Output:
SBI Rate of Interest: 8
ICICI Rate of Interest: 7
AXIS Rate of Interest: 9

Rules for Method Overriding:
1.     applies only to inherited methods
2.     object type (NOT reference variable type) determines which overridden method will be used at runtime
3.     Overriding method can have different return type (refer this)
4.     Overriding method must not have more restrictive access modifier
5.     Abstract methods must be overridden
6.     Static and final methods cannot be overridden
7.     Constructors cannot be overridden
8.     It is also known as Runtime polymorphism.

super keyword in Overriding:
When invoking a superclass version of an overridden method the super keyword is used.
Example:
class Vehicle {
    public void move () {
         System.out.println ("Vehicles are used for moving from one place to another ");
    }
}
 
class Car extends Vehicle {
    public void move () {
      super. move (); // invokes the super class method
      System.out.println ("Car is a good medium of transport ");
    }
}
 
public class TestCar {
    public static void main (String args []){
        Vehicle b = new Car (); // Vehicle reference but Car object
        b.move (); //Calls the method in Car class
    }
}

Output:
Vehicles are used for moving from one place to another
Car is a good medium of transport



Difference Between Method Overloading vs Method Overriding





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