Polymorphism

Analogy: remote

Polymorphism is like a Universal Remote. You press the "Power" button.

If you point it at the TV, it turns on the screen.
If you point it at the AC, it starts the fan.

One button ("Power") does different things depending on the object.

The Shape Shifter

Imagine a game where you have a Shape.

A Circle rolls.
A Square slides.
A Triangle spins.

But you just call performAction() on all of them!

Shape Shifter (Polymorphism)

Morph Into

Polymorphism Logic

The performAction() method behaves differently depending on the current shape form.

Inheritance Console

Waiting for action...

The Code

Java Example

Switch language in Navbar

class Shape {
    void performAction() {
        System.out.println("Doing something...");
    }
}

class Circle extends Shape {
    void performAction() {
        System.out.println("Rolling...");
    }
}

class Square extends Shape {
    void performAction() {
        System.out.println("Sliding...");
    }
}

This allows you to treat all shapes the same way:

Java Example

Switch language in Navbar

Shape s = new Circle();
s.performAction(); // Output: Rolling...

Advanced Concepts

Operator Overloading

Polymorphism isn't just for methods! In some languages (like C++ or Python), you can redefine how operators like + work.

Numbers: 1 + 2 = 3 (Addition)
Strings: "Hello " + "World" = "Hello World" (Concatenation)
Custom Objects: Vector(1, 2) + Vector(3, 4) = Vector(4, 6) (Vector Addition)

Java Example

Switch language in Navbar

// Java doesn't support Operator Overloading
// We use methods instead:
class Vector {
    int x, y;
    Vector(int x, int y) { this.x = x; this.y = y; }

    Vector add(Vector other) {
        return new Vector(x + other.x, y + other.y);
    }
}

Vector v1 = new Vector(1, 2);
Vector v2 = new Vector(3, 4);
Vector v3 = v1.add(v2);