We always say that method overloading is static polymorphism and overriding is runtime polymorphism. What exactly do we mean by static here? Is the call to a method resolved on compiling the code? So whats the difference between normal method call and calling a final method? Which one is linked at compile time?
Method overloading means making multiple versions of a function based on the inputs. For example:
public Double doSomething(Double x) { ... }
public Object doSomething(Object y) { ... }
The choice of which method to call is made at compile time. For example:
Double obj1 = new Double();
doSomething(obj1); // calls the Double version
Object obj2 = new Object();
doSomething(obj2); // calls the Object version
Object obj3 = new Double();
doSomething(obj3); // calls the Object version because the compilers see the
// type as Object
// This makes more sense when you consider something like
public void myMethod(Object o) {
doSomething(o);
}
myMethod(new Double(5));
// inside the call to myMethod, it sees only that it has an Object
// it can't tell that it's a Double at compile time
Method Overriding means defining a new version of the method by a subclass of the original
class Parent {
public void myMethod() { ... }
}
class Child extends Parent {
#Override
public void myMethod() { ... }
}
Parent p = new Parent();
p.myMethod(); // calls Parent's myMethod
Child c = new Child();
c.myMethod(); // calls Child's myMethod
Parent pc = new Child();
pc.myMethod(); // call's Child's myMethod because the type is checked at runtime
// rather than compile time
I hope that helps
Your are right - calls to overloaded methods are realized at compile time. That's why it is static.
Calls to overridden methods are realized at run-time, based on the type on which the method is invoked.
On virtual methods wikipedia says:
In Java, all non-static methods are by default "virtual functions." Only methods marked with the keyword final are non-virtual.
final methods cannot be overridden, so they are realized statically.
Imagine the method:
public String analyze(Interface i) {
i.analyze();
return i.getAnalysisDetails();
}
The compiler can't overload this method for all implementations of Interface that can possibly be passed to it.
I don't think you can call overloading any sort of polymorphism. Overloaded methods are linked at compile time, which kind of precludes calling it polymorphism.
Polymorphism refers to the dynamic binding of a method to its call when you use a base class reference for a derived class object. Overriding methods is how you implement this polymorphic behaviour.
i agree with rachel, because in K&B book it is directly mentioned that overloading does not belong to polymorphism in chapter 2(object orientation). But in lots of places i found that overloading means static polymorphism because it is compile time and overriding means dynamic polymorphism because it s run time.
But one interesting thing is in a C++ book (Object-Oriented Programming in C++ - Robert Lafore) it is also directly mentioned that overloading means static polymorphism.
But one more thing is there java and c++ both are two different programing languages and they have different object manipulation techniques so may be polymorphism differs in c++ and java ?
Method Overloading simply means providing two separate methods in a class with the same name but different arguments while method return type may or may not be different which allows us to reuse the same method name.
But both methods are different hence can be resolved by compiler at compile time that's is why it is also known as Compile Time Polymorphism or Static Polymorphism
Method Overriding means defining a method in the child class which is already defined in the parent class with same method signature i.e same name, arguments and return type.
Mammal mammal = new Cat();
System.out.println(mammal.speak());
At the line mammal.speak() compiler says the speak() method of reference type Mammal is getting called, so for compiler this call is Mammal.speak().
But at the execution time JVM knows clearly that mammal reference is holding the reference of object of Cat, so for JVM this call is Cat.speak().
Because method call is getting resolved at runtime by JVM that's why it is also known as Runtime Polymorphism and Dynamic Method Dispatch.
Difference Between Method Overloading and Method Overriding
For more details, you can read Everything About Method Overloading Vs Method Overriding.
Simple Definition - Method overloading deals with the notion of having two or more methods(functions) in the same class with the same name but different arguments.
While Method overriding means having two methods with the same arguments, but different implementation. One of them would exist in the Parent class (Base Class) while another will be in the derived class(Child Class).#Override annotation is required for this.
Check this :
Click here for a detailed example
Property Over-loading Overriding
Method Names -------------->must be Same----------------must be same
Arg Types------------------>must be Different(at least arg)
Method Signature
Return Type
Private,Static,Final
Access Modifier
try/Catch
Method Resolution
First, I want to discuss Run-time/Dynamic polymorphism and Compile-time/static polymorphism.
Compile-time/static polymorphism:- as its name suggests that it bind the function call to its appropriate Function at compile time. That means the compiler exactly know which function call associated to which function. Function overloading is an example of compile time polymorphism.
Run-time/Dynamic polymorphism:-In this type of polymorphism compiler don't know which functions call associates to which function until the run of the program. Eg. function overriding.
NOW, what are the function overriding and function overloading???
Function Overloading:- same function name but different function signature/parameter.
eg. Area(no. of parameter)
{ -------------
----------------
return area;}
area of square requires only one parameter
area of rectangle requires two parameters(Length and breadth)
function overriding:- alter the work of a function which is present in both the Superclass and Child class.
eg. name() in superclass prints "hello Rahul" but after overring in child class it prints "hello Akshit"
Tried to cover all differences
Overloading Overriding
Method Name Must be same Must be same
Argument Types Must be same Must be different
Return Type No restriction Must be same till 1.4V
but after 1.4V
co- variants
were introduced
private/static/final Can be overloaded Cannot be overridden
Access Modifiers No restriction Cannot reduce the scope
Throws keyword No restriction If child class method
throws a checked
exception the parent
class method must throw
the same or the
parent exception
Method Resolution Taken care by compiler Taken care by JVM based
based on reference types on run-time object
Known as Compile-Time Polymorphism, RunTime Polymorphism,
Static Polymorphism, or dynamic polymorphism,
early binding late binding.
Related
Can anyone provide a simple example that explains the difference between Dynamic and Static polymorphism in Java?
Polymorphism
1. Static binding/Compile-Time binding/Early binding/Method overloading.(in same class)
2. Dynamic binding/Run-Time binding/Late binding/Method overriding.(in different classes)
overloading example:
class Calculation {
void sum(int a,int b){System.out.println(a+b);}
void sum(int a,int b,int c){System.out.println(a+b+c);}
public static void main(String args[]) {
Calculation obj=new Calculation();
obj.sum(10,10,10); // 30
obj.sum(20,20); //40
}
}
overriding example:
class Animal {
public void move(){
System.out.println("Animals can move");
}
}
class Dog extends Animal {
public void move() {
System.out.println("Dogs can walk and run");
}
}
public class TestDog {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Animal a = new Animal(); // Animal reference and object
Animal b = new Dog(); // Animal reference but Dog object
a.move();//output: Animals can move
b.move();//output:Dogs can walk and run
}
}
Method overloading would be an example of static polymorphism
whereas overriding would be an example of dynamic polymorphism.
Because, in case of overloading, at compile time the compiler knows which method to link to the call. However, it is determined at runtime for dynamic polymorphism
Dynamic (run time) polymorphism is the polymorphism existed at run-time. Here, Java compiler does not understand which method is called at compilation time. Only JVM decides which method is called at run-time. Method overloading and method overriding using instance methods are the examples for dynamic polymorphism.
For example,
Consider an application that serializes and de-serializes different
types of documents.
We can have ‘Document’ as the base class and different document type
classes deriving from it. E.g. XMLDocument , WordDocument , etc.
Document class will define ‘ Serialize() ’ and ‘ De-serialize() ’
methods as virtual and each derived class will implement these
methods in its own way based on the actual contents of the documents.
When different types of documents need to be
serialized/de-serialized, the document objects will be referred by
the ‘ Document’ class reference (or pointer) and when the ‘
Serialize() ’ or ‘ De-serialize() ’ method are called on it,
appropriate versions of the virtual methods are called.
Static (compile time) polymorphism is the polymorphism exhibited at compile time. Here, Java compiler knows which method is called. Method overloading and method overriding using static methods; method overriding using private or final methods are examples for static polymorphism
For example,
An employee object may have two print() methods one taking no
arguments and one taking a prefix string to be displayed along with
the employee data.
Given these interfaces, when the print() method is called without any
arguments, the compiler, looking at the function arguments knows which function is meant to be called and it generates the object code
accordingly.
For more details please read "What is Polymorphism" (Google it).
Binding refers to the link between method call and method definition.
This picture clearly shows what is binding.
In this picture, “a1.methodOne()” call is binding to corresponding methodOne() definition and “a1.methodTwo()” call is binding to corresponding methodTwo() definition.
For every method call there should be proper method definition. This is a rule in java. If compiler does not see the proper method definition for every method call, it throws error.
Now, come to static binding and dynamic binding in java.
Static Binding In Java :
Static binding is a binding which happens during compilation. It is
also called early binding because binding happens before a program
actually runs
.
Static binding can be demonstrated like in the below picture.
In this picture, ‘a1’ is a reference variable of type Class A pointing to object of class A. ‘a2’ is also reference variable of type class A but pointing to object of Class B.
During compilation, while binding, compiler does not check the type of object to which a particular reference variable is pointing. It just checks the type of reference variable through which a method is called and checks whether there exist a method definition for it in that type.
For example, for “a1.method()” method call in the above picture, compiler checks whether there exist method definition for method() in Class A. Because ‘a1′ is Class A type. Similarly, for “a2.method()” method call, it checks whether there exist method definition for method() in Class A. Because ‘a2′ is also Class A type. It does not check to which object, ‘a1’ and ‘a2’ are pointing. This type of binding is called static binding.
Dynamic Binding In Java :
Dynamic binding is a binding which happens during run time. It is also
called late binding because binding happens when program actually is
running.
During run time actual objects are used for binding. For example, for “a1.method()” call in the above picture, method() of actual object to which ‘a1’ is pointing will be called. For “a2.method()” call, method() of actual object to which ‘a2’ is pointing will be called. This type of binding is called dynamic binding.
The dynamic binding of above example can be demonstrated like below.
Reference static-binding-and-dynamic-binding-in-java
method overloading is an example of compile time/static polymorphism because method binding between method call and method definition happens at compile time and it depends on the reference of the class (reference created at compile time and goes to stack).
method overriding is an example of run time/dynamic polymorphism because method binding between method call and method definition happens at run time and it depends on the object of the class (object created at runtime and goes to the heap).
In simple terms :
Static polymorphism : Same method name is overloaded with different type or number of parameters in same class (different signature). Targeted method call is resolved at compile time.
Dynamic polymorphism: Same method is overridden with same signature in different classes. Type of object on which method is being invoked is not known at compile time but will be decided at run time.
Generally overloading won't be considered as polymorphism.
From java tutorial page :
Subclasses of a class can define their own unique behaviors and yet share some of the same functionality of the parent class
Method Overloading is known as Static Polymorphism and also Known as Compile Time Polymorphism or Static Binding because overloaded method calls get resolved at compile time by the compiler on the basis of the argument list and the reference on which we are calling the method.
And Method Overriding is known as Dynamic Polymorphism or simple Polymorphism or Runtime Method Dispatch or Dynamic Binding because overridden method call get resolved at runtime.
In order to understand why this is so let's take an example of Mammal and Human class
class Mammal {
public void speak() { System.out.println("ohlllalalalalalaoaoaoa"); }
}
class Human extends Mammal {
#Override
public void speak() { System.out.println("Hello"); }
public void speak(String language) {
if (language.equals("Hindi")) System.out.println("Namaste");
else System.out.println("Hello");
}
}
I have included output as well as bytecode of in below lines of code
Mammal anyMammal = new Mammal();
anyMammal.speak(); // Output - ohlllalalalalalaoaoaoa
// 10: invokevirtual #4 // Method org/programming/mitra/exercises/OverridingInternalExample$Mammal.speak:()V
Mammal humanMammal = new Human();
humanMammal.speak(); // Output - Hello
// 23: invokevirtual #4 // Method org/programming/mitra/exercises/OverridingInternalExample$Mammal.speak:()V
Human human = new Human();
human.speak(); // Output - Hello
// 36: invokevirtual #7 // Method org/programming/mitra/exercises/OverridingInternalExample$Human.speak:()V
human.speak("Hindi"); // Output - Namaste
// 42: invokevirtual #9 // Method org/programming/mitra/exercises/OverridingInternalExample$Human.speak:(Ljava/lang/String;)V
And by looking at above code we can see that the bytecodes of humanMammal.speak() , human.speak() and human.speak("Hindi") are totally different because the compiler is able to differentiate between them based on the argument list and class reference. And this is why Method Overloading is known as Static Polymorphism.
But bytecode for anyMammal.speak() and humanMammal.speak() is same because according to compiler both methods are called on Mammal reference but the output for both method calls is different because at runtime JVM knows what object a reference is holding and JVM calls the method on the object and this is why Method Overriding is known as Dynamic Polymorphism.
So from above code and bytecode, it is clear that during compilation phase calling method is considered from the reference type. But at execution time method will be called from the object which the reference is holding.
If you want to know more about this you can read more on How Does JVM Handle Method Overloading and Overriding Internally.
Polymorphism:
Polymorphism is the ability of an object to take on many forms. The most common use of polymorphism in OOP occurs when a parent class reference is used to refer to a child class object.
Dynamic Binding/Runtime Polymorphism :
Run time Polymorphism also known as method overriding. In this Mechanism by which a call to an overridden function is resolved at a Run-Time.
public class DynamicBindingTest {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Vehicle vehicle = new Car(); //here Type is vehicle but object will be Car
vehicle.start(); //Car's start called because start() is overridden method
}
}
class Vehicle {
public void start() {
System.out.println("Inside start method of Vehicle");
}
}
class Car extends Vehicle {
#Override
public void start() {
System.out.println("Inside start method of Car");
}
}
Output:
Inside start method of Car
Static Binding /compile-time polymorphism:
Which method is to be called is decided at compile-time only.
public class StaticBindingTest {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Collection c = new HashSet();
StaticBindingTest et = new StaticBindingTest();
et.sort(c);
}
//overloaded method takes Collection argument
public Collection sort(Collection c){
System.out.println("Inside Collection sort method");
return c;
}
//another overloaded method which takes HashSet argument which is sub class
public Collection sort(HashSet hs){
System.out.println("Inside HashSet sort method");
return hs;
}
}
Output:
Inside Collection sort metho
Static Polymorphism: is where the decision to resolve which method to accomplish, is determined during the compile time. Method Overloading could be an example of this.
Dynamic Polymorphism: is where the decision to choose which method to execute, is set during the run-time. Method Overriding could be an example of this.
Polymorphism refers to the ability of an object to behave differently for the same trigger.
Static polymorphism (Compile-time Polymorphism)
Static Polymorphism decides which method to execute during compile
time.
Method Overloading is an example of static polymorphism, and it is
requred to happens static polymorphism.
Static Polymorphism achieved through static binding.
Static Polymorphism happens in the same class.
Object assignment is not required for static polymorphism.
Inheritance not involved for static polymorphism.
Dynamic Polymorphism (Runtime Polymorphism)
Dynamic Polymorphism decides which method to execute in runtime.
Method Overriding is an example of dynamic polymorphism, and it is
requred to happens dynamic polymorphism.
Dynamic Polymorphism achieved through dynamic binding.
Dynamic Polymorphism happens between different classes.
It is required where a subclass object is assigned to super class
object for dynamic polymorphism.
Inheritance involved for dynamic polymorphism.
Compile time polymorphism(Static Binding/Early Binding): In static polymorphism, if we call a method in our code then which definition of that method is to be called actually is resolved at compile time only.
(or)
At compile time, Java knows which method to invoke by checking the method signatures. So, this is called compile-time polymorphism or static binding.
Dynamic Polymorphism(Late Binding/ Runtime Polymorphism): At run time, Java waits until runtime to determine which object is actually being pointed to by the reference. Method resolution was taken at runtime, due to that we call as run time polymorphism.
Consider the code below:
public class X
{
public void methodA() // Base class method
{
System.out.println ("hello, I'm methodA of class X");
}
}
public class Y extends X
{
public void methodA() // Derived Class method
{
System.out.println ("hello, I'm methodA of class Y");
}
}
public class Z
{
public static void main (String args []) {
//this takes input from the user during runtime
System.out.println("Enter x or y");
Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
String value= scanner.nextLine();
X obj1 = null;
if(value.equals("x"))
obj1 = new X(); // Reference and object X
else if(value.equals("y"))
obj2 = new Y(); // X reference but Y object
else
System.out.println("Invalid param value");
obj1.methodA();
}
}
Now, looking at the code you can never tell which implementation of methodA() will be executed, Because it depends on what value the user gives during runtime. So, it is only decided during the runtime as to which method will be called. Hence, Runtime polymorphism.
Method overloading is a compile time polymorphism, let's take an example to understand the concept.
class Person //person.java file
{
public static void main ( String[] args )
{
Eat e = new Eat();
e.eat(noodle); //line 6
}
void eat (Noodles n) //Noodles is a object line 8
{
}
void eat ( Pizza p) //Pizza is a object
{
}
}
In this example, Person has a eat method which represents that he can either eat Pizza or Noodles. That the method eat is overloaded when we compile this Person.java the compiler resolves the method call " e.eat(noodles) [which is at line 6] with the method definition specified in line 8 that is it method which takes noodles as parameter and the entire process is done by Compiler so it is Compile time Polymorphism.
The process of replacement of the method call with method definition is called as binding, in this case, it is done by the compiler so it is called as early binding.
Following on from Naresh's answer, dynamic polymorphism is only 'dynamic' in Java because of the presence of the virtual machine and its ability to interpret the code at run time rather than the code running natively.
In C++ it must be resolved at compile time if it is being compiled to a native binary using gcc, obviously; however, the runtime jump and thunk in the virtual table is still referred to as a 'lookup' or 'dynamic'. If C inherits B, and you declare B* b = new C(); b->method1();, b will be resolved by the compiler to point to a B object inside C (for a simple class inherits a class situation, the B object inside C and C will start at the same memory address so nothing is required to be done; it will be pointing at the vptr that they both use). If C inherits B and A, the virtual function table of the A object inside C entry for method1 will have a thunk which will offset the pointer to the start of the encapsulating C object and then pass it to the real A::method1() in the text segment which C has overridden. For C* c = new C(); c->method1(), c will be pointing to the outer C object already and the pointer will be passed to C::method1() in the text segment. Refer to: http://www.programmersought.com/article/2572545946/
In java, for B b = new C(); b.method1();, the virtual machine is able to dynamically check the type of the object paired with b and can pass the correct pointer and call the correct method. The extra step of the virtual machine eliminates the need for virtual function tables or the type being resolved at compile time, even when it could be known at compile time. It's just a different way of doing it which makes sense when a virtual machine is involved and code is only compiled to bytecode.
Can anyone provide a simple example that explains the difference between Dynamic and Static polymorphism in Java?
Polymorphism
1. Static binding/Compile-Time binding/Early binding/Method overloading.(in same class)
2. Dynamic binding/Run-Time binding/Late binding/Method overriding.(in different classes)
overloading example:
class Calculation {
void sum(int a,int b){System.out.println(a+b);}
void sum(int a,int b,int c){System.out.println(a+b+c);}
public static void main(String args[]) {
Calculation obj=new Calculation();
obj.sum(10,10,10); // 30
obj.sum(20,20); //40
}
}
overriding example:
class Animal {
public void move(){
System.out.println("Animals can move");
}
}
class Dog extends Animal {
public void move() {
System.out.println("Dogs can walk and run");
}
}
public class TestDog {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Animal a = new Animal(); // Animal reference and object
Animal b = new Dog(); // Animal reference but Dog object
a.move();//output: Animals can move
b.move();//output:Dogs can walk and run
}
}
Method overloading would be an example of static polymorphism
whereas overriding would be an example of dynamic polymorphism.
Because, in case of overloading, at compile time the compiler knows which method to link to the call. However, it is determined at runtime for dynamic polymorphism
Dynamic (run time) polymorphism is the polymorphism existed at run-time. Here, Java compiler does not understand which method is called at compilation time. Only JVM decides which method is called at run-time. Method overloading and method overriding using instance methods are the examples for dynamic polymorphism.
For example,
Consider an application that serializes and de-serializes different
types of documents.
We can have ‘Document’ as the base class and different document type
classes deriving from it. E.g. XMLDocument , WordDocument , etc.
Document class will define ‘ Serialize() ’ and ‘ De-serialize() ’
methods as virtual and each derived class will implement these
methods in its own way based on the actual contents of the documents.
When different types of documents need to be
serialized/de-serialized, the document objects will be referred by
the ‘ Document’ class reference (or pointer) and when the ‘
Serialize() ’ or ‘ De-serialize() ’ method are called on it,
appropriate versions of the virtual methods are called.
Static (compile time) polymorphism is the polymorphism exhibited at compile time. Here, Java compiler knows which method is called. Method overloading and method overriding using static methods; method overriding using private or final methods are examples for static polymorphism
For example,
An employee object may have two print() methods one taking no
arguments and one taking a prefix string to be displayed along with
the employee data.
Given these interfaces, when the print() method is called without any
arguments, the compiler, looking at the function arguments knows which function is meant to be called and it generates the object code
accordingly.
For more details please read "What is Polymorphism" (Google it).
Binding refers to the link between method call and method definition.
This picture clearly shows what is binding.
In this picture, “a1.methodOne()” call is binding to corresponding methodOne() definition and “a1.methodTwo()” call is binding to corresponding methodTwo() definition.
For every method call there should be proper method definition. This is a rule in java. If compiler does not see the proper method definition for every method call, it throws error.
Now, come to static binding and dynamic binding in java.
Static Binding In Java :
Static binding is a binding which happens during compilation. It is
also called early binding because binding happens before a program
actually runs
.
Static binding can be demonstrated like in the below picture.
In this picture, ‘a1’ is a reference variable of type Class A pointing to object of class A. ‘a2’ is also reference variable of type class A but pointing to object of Class B.
During compilation, while binding, compiler does not check the type of object to which a particular reference variable is pointing. It just checks the type of reference variable through which a method is called and checks whether there exist a method definition for it in that type.
For example, for “a1.method()” method call in the above picture, compiler checks whether there exist method definition for method() in Class A. Because ‘a1′ is Class A type. Similarly, for “a2.method()” method call, it checks whether there exist method definition for method() in Class A. Because ‘a2′ is also Class A type. It does not check to which object, ‘a1’ and ‘a2’ are pointing. This type of binding is called static binding.
Dynamic Binding In Java :
Dynamic binding is a binding which happens during run time. It is also
called late binding because binding happens when program actually is
running.
During run time actual objects are used for binding. For example, for “a1.method()” call in the above picture, method() of actual object to which ‘a1’ is pointing will be called. For “a2.method()” call, method() of actual object to which ‘a2’ is pointing will be called. This type of binding is called dynamic binding.
The dynamic binding of above example can be demonstrated like below.
Reference static-binding-and-dynamic-binding-in-java
method overloading is an example of compile time/static polymorphism because method binding between method call and method definition happens at compile time and it depends on the reference of the class (reference created at compile time and goes to stack).
method overriding is an example of run time/dynamic polymorphism because method binding between method call and method definition happens at run time and it depends on the object of the class (object created at runtime and goes to the heap).
In simple terms :
Static polymorphism : Same method name is overloaded with different type or number of parameters in same class (different signature). Targeted method call is resolved at compile time.
Dynamic polymorphism: Same method is overridden with same signature in different classes. Type of object on which method is being invoked is not known at compile time but will be decided at run time.
Generally overloading won't be considered as polymorphism.
From java tutorial page :
Subclasses of a class can define their own unique behaviors and yet share some of the same functionality of the parent class
Method Overloading is known as Static Polymorphism and also Known as Compile Time Polymorphism or Static Binding because overloaded method calls get resolved at compile time by the compiler on the basis of the argument list and the reference on which we are calling the method.
And Method Overriding is known as Dynamic Polymorphism or simple Polymorphism or Runtime Method Dispatch or Dynamic Binding because overridden method call get resolved at runtime.
In order to understand why this is so let's take an example of Mammal and Human class
class Mammal {
public void speak() { System.out.println("ohlllalalalalalaoaoaoa"); }
}
class Human extends Mammal {
#Override
public void speak() { System.out.println("Hello"); }
public void speak(String language) {
if (language.equals("Hindi")) System.out.println("Namaste");
else System.out.println("Hello");
}
}
I have included output as well as bytecode of in below lines of code
Mammal anyMammal = new Mammal();
anyMammal.speak(); // Output - ohlllalalalalalaoaoaoa
// 10: invokevirtual #4 // Method org/programming/mitra/exercises/OverridingInternalExample$Mammal.speak:()V
Mammal humanMammal = new Human();
humanMammal.speak(); // Output - Hello
// 23: invokevirtual #4 // Method org/programming/mitra/exercises/OverridingInternalExample$Mammal.speak:()V
Human human = new Human();
human.speak(); // Output - Hello
// 36: invokevirtual #7 // Method org/programming/mitra/exercises/OverridingInternalExample$Human.speak:()V
human.speak("Hindi"); // Output - Namaste
// 42: invokevirtual #9 // Method org/programming/mitra/exercises/OverridingInternalExample$Human.speak:(Ljava/lang/String;)V
And by looking at above code we can see that the bytecodes of humanMammal.speak() , human.speak() and human.speak("Hindi") are totally different because the compiler is able to differentiate between them based on the argument list and class reference. And this is why Method Overloading is known as Static Polymorphism.
But bytecode for anyMammal.speak() and humanMammal.speak() is same because according to compiler both methods are called on Mammal reference but the output for both method calls is different because at runtime JVM knows what object a reference is holding and JVM calls the method on the object and this is why Method Overriding is known as Dynamic Polymorphism.
So from above code and bytecode, it is clear that during compilation phase calling method is considered from the reference type. But at execution time method will be called from the object which the reference is holding.
If you want to know more about this you can read more on How Does JVM Handle Method Overloading and Overriding Internally.
Polymorphism:
Polymorphism is the ability of an object to take on many forms. The most common use of polymorphism in OOP occurs when a parent class reference is used to refer to a child class object.
Dynamic Binding/Runtime Polymorphism :
Run time Polymorphism also known as method overriding. In this Mechanism by which a call to an overridden function is resolved at a Run-Time.
public class DynamicBindingTest {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Vehicle vehicle = new Car(); //here Type is vehicle but object will be Car
vehicle.start(); //Car's start called because start() is overridden method
}
}
class Vehicle {
public void start() {
System.out.println("Inside start method of Vehicle");
}
}
class Car extends Vehicle {
#Override
public void start() {
System.out.println("Inside start method of Car");
}
}
Output:
Inside start method of Car
Static Binding /compile-time polymorphism:
Which method is to be called is decided at compile-time only.
public class StaticBindingTest {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Collection c = new HashSet();
StaticBindingTest et = new StaticBindingTest();
et.sort(c);
}
//overloaded method takes Collection argument
public Collection sort(Collection c){
System.out.println("Inside Collection sort method");
return c;
}
//another overloaded method which takes HashSet argument which is sub class
public Collection sort(HashSet hs){
System.out.println("Inside HashSet sort method");
return hs;
}
}
Output:
Inside Collection sort metho
Static Polymorphism: is where the decision to resolve which method to accomplish, is determined during the compile time. Method Overloading could be an example of this.
Dynamic Polymorphism: is where the decision to choose which method to execute, is set during the run-time. Method Overriding could be an example of this.
Polymorphism refers to the ability of an object to behave differently for the same trigger.
Static polymorphism (Compile-time Polymorphism)
Static Polymorphism decides which method to execute during compile
time.
Method Overloading is an example of static polymorphism, and it is
requred to happens static polymorphism.
Static Polymorphism achieved through static binding.
Static Polymorphism happens in the same class.
Object assignment is not required for static polymorphism.
Inheritance not involved for static polymorphism.
Dynamic Polymorphism (Runtime Polymorphism)
Dynamic Polymorphism decides which method to execute in runtime.
Method Overriding is an example of dynamic polymorphism, and it is
requred to happens dynamic polymorphism.
Dynamic Polymorphism achieved through dynamic binding.
Dynamic Polymorphism happens between different classes.
It is required where a subclass object is assigned to super class
object for dynamic polymorphism.
Inheritance involved for dynamic polymorphism.
Compile time polymorphism(Static Binding/Early Binding): In static polymorphism, if we call a method in our code then which definition of that method is to be called actually is resolved at compile time only.
(or)
At compile time, Java knows which method to invoke by checking the method signatures. So, this is called compile-time polymorphism or static binding.
Dynamic Polymorphism(Late Binding/ Runtime Polymorphism): At run time, Java waits until runtime to determine which object is actually being pointed to by the reference. Method resolution was taken at runtime, due to that we call as run time polymorphism.
Consider the code below:
public class X
{
public void methodA() // Base class method
{
System.out.println ("hello, I'm methodA of class X");
}
}
public class Y extends X
{
public void methodA() // Derived Class method
{
System.out.println ("hello, I'm methodA of class Y");
}
}
public class Z
{
public static void main (String args []) {
//this takes input from the user during runtime
System.out.println("Enter x or y");
Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
String value= scanner.nextLine();
X obj1 = null;
if(value.equals("x"))
obj1 = new X(); // Reference and object X
else if(value.equals("y"))
obj2 = new Y(); // X reference but Y object
else
System.out.println("Invalid param value");
obj1.methodA();
}
}
Now, looking at the code you can never tell which implementation of methodA() will be executed, Because it depends on what value the user gives during runtime. So, it is only decided during the runtime as to which method will be called. Hence, Runtime polymorphism.
Method overloading is a compile time polymorphism, let's take an example to understand the concept.
class Person //person.java file
{
public static void main ( String[] args )
{
Eat e = new Eat();
e.eat(noodle); //line 6
}
void eat (Noodles n) //Noodles is a object line 8
{
}
void eat ( Pizza p) //Pizza is a object
{
}
}
In this example, Person has a eat method which represents that he can either eat Pizza or Noodles. That the method eat is overloaded when we compile this Person.java the compiler resolves the method call " e.eat(noodles) [which is at line 6] with the method definition specified in line 8 that is it method which takes noodles as parameter and the entire process is done by Compiler so it is Compile time Polymorphism.
The process of replacement of the method call with method definition is called as binding, in this case, it is done by the compiler so it is called as early binding.
Following on from Naresh's answer, dynamic polymorphism is only 'dynamic' in Java because of the presence of the virtual machine and its ability to interpret the code at run time rather than the code running natively.
In C++ it must be resolved at compile time if it is being compiled to a native binary using gcc, obviously; however, the runtime jump and thunk in the virtual table is still referred to as a 'lookup' or 'dynamic'. If C inherits B, and you declare B* b = new C(); b->method1();, b will be resolved by the compiler to point to a B object inside C (for a simple class inherits a class situation, the B object inside C and C will start at the same memory address so nothing is required to be done; it will be pointing at the vptr that they both use). If C inherits B and A, the virtual function table of the A object inside C entry for method1 will have a thunk which will offset the pointer to the start of the encapsulating C object and then pass it to the real A::method1() in the text segment which C has overridden. For C* c = new C(); c->method1(), c will be pointing to the outer C object already and the pointer will be passed to C::method1() in the text segment. Refer to: http://www.programmersought.com/article/2572545946/
In java, for B b = new C(); b.method1();, the virtual machine is able to dynamically check the type of the object paired with b and can pass the correct pointer and call the correct method. The extra step of the virtual machine eliminates the need for virtual function tables or the type being resolved at compile time, even when it could be known at compile time. It's just a different way of doing it which makes sense when a virtual machine is involved and code is only compiled to bytecode.
So, I was studying from Head First Java and there I read -
An overloaded method is just a different method that happens to have the same method name, It has nothing to do with inheritance and polymorphism.
However, I have another famous book named as Java - The Complete Reference by Herbert Schildt and in that book, I read:
Method overloading is one of the ways that Java supports polymorphism. Method overloading supports polymorphism because it is one way that Java implements the “one interface, multiple methods” paradigm.
Which one of them is correct?
To answer your question in the title, no, you cannot use method overloading to describe polymorphism.
Method Overloading is when a class has two or more methods by the same name, the only difference is its parameters. This is a completely difference concept than polymporhism.
Polymorphism is the ability of an object to take on many forms. This occurs when a parent class reference is used to refer to a child class object.
For example, if I was tasked with creating some type of application for a zoo and I wanted to keep track of the animals using classes. I would make a class called "Animal" and additional classes for each animal, "Lion", "Eagle", "Dolphin". After declaring the animal classes as subclasses, I can then use the concept of polymorphism to create Lions, Eagles, and Dolphins which are of type "Animal".
Can method overloading be considered a way of describing polymorphism
in Java?
No these are two different concepts.
I think that you incorrectly understood what the author means.
I stressed in bold the important part :
Method overloading is one of the ways that Java supports polymorphism.
Method overloading supports polymorphism because it is one way that
Java implements the “one interface, multiple methods” paradigm.
It simply means that overloading and polymorphism are not incompatible.
For example, you may have an interface that defines an overloaded method :
public interface Doable{
void doX(String s);
void doX(Integer s)
}
Suppose MyDoable an implementation of it and MyChildDoable a subclass of MyDoable.
When you write :
MyDoable myDoable = new MyChildDoable();
myDoable.doX("a")
the compiler will bound the invoked method to void doX(String s); (overloading) but at runtime, the method of the instance (MyChildDoable) will be used (polymorshism).
Polymorphism is not of one type, there are different types of polymorphism. Please refer this wonderful link - Java Polymorphism to understand it better.
Overloading supports polymorphism, the polymorphic behavior invocation is based on type arguments passed and it takes place in an ad-hoc way.
So, there is this idea of compile time polymorphism and runtime polymorphism. The idea of polymorphism implies same interface but different implementations.
The way "compile time" polymorphism works is through function overloading i.e. you have the same function name but with different arrity. I am guessing this is what the second second book is referring to as "polymorphism supported through method overloading". However, strictly speaking the interface also includes the arrity, which means method overloading might not constitute polymorphism.
Runtime polymorphism is where the actual type of a given object is what dictates what implementation should be used. This is where the interface / base class and derived class comes into picture. This would be the more accurate definition of polymorphism - at least from an object orientation point of view.
Overriding - this is about polymorphism.
public class Base {
public void print() {
System.out.println("base");
}
}
public class Extend extends Base {
#Override
public void print() {
System.out.println("Extend");
}
}
Let's look at the output
new Base().print();
will print "Base"
new Extend().print();
will print "Extend".
Overloading - this is about method overload in one class with different parameters:
public class ABC {
// method 1
void method(int a){
System.out.println("method 1");
}
// method 2
void method(int a, int b){
System.out.println("method 2");
}
}
Let's look at the output
ABC abc = new ABC();
abc.method(5);
will invoke method(int) and print "method 1"
abc.method(1,2)
will invoke method(int, int) and print "method 2"
Overriding - this is runtime feature;
Overloading - this compile time feature;
all overloading method (with one name) must be same return type or void.
I do know the syntactical difference between overriding and overloading. And I also know that overriding is run-time polymorphism and overloading is compile-time polymorphism. But my question is: "Is overloading is really compile-time polymorphism? Is the method call really solving at compile time?". To clarify my point, let's consider an example class.
public class Greeter {
public void greetMe() {
System.out.println("Hello");
}
public void greetMe(String name) {
System.out.println("Hello " + name);
}
public void wishLuck() {
System.out.println("Good Luck");
}
}
Since all of the methods greetMe(), greetMe(String name), wishLuck() are public, they all can be overriden(including overloaded one), right? For example,
public class FancyGreeter extends Greeter {
public void greetMe() {
System.out.println("***********");
System.out.println("* Hello *");
System.out.println("***********");
}
}
Now, consider the following snippet:
Greeter greeter = GreeterFactory.getRandomGreeter();
greeter.greetMe();
The getRandomGreeter() method returns a random Greeter object. It may either return an object of Greeter, or any of its subclasses, like FancyGreeter or GraphicalGreeter or any other one. The getRandomGreeter() will create the objects either using new or dynamically load the class file and create object using reflection(I think it is possible with reflection) or any other way that is possible. All of these methods of Greeter may or may not be overriden in subclasses. So the compiler has no way to know whether a particular method(overloaded or not) is overriden. Right? Also, wikipedia says on Virtual functions:
In Java, all non-static methods are by default "virtual functions".
Only methods marked with the keyword final, which cannot be overridden,
along with private methods, which are not inherited, are non-virtual.
Since, virtual functions are resolved at run-time using dynamic method dispatch, and since all non private, non final methods are virtual(whether overloaded or not), they must be resolved at run-time. Right?
Then, How can overloading still be resolved at compile-time? Or, is there anything that I misunderstood, or am I missing?
Every 'Greeter' class has 3 virtual methods: void greetMe(), void greetMe(String), and void wishLuck().
When you call greeter.greetMe() the compiler can work out which one of the three virtual methods should be called from the method signature - ie. the void greetMe() one since it accepts no arguments. Which specific implementation of the void greetMe() method is called depends on the type of the greeter instance, and is resolved at run-time.
In your example it's trivial for the compiler to work out which method to call, since the method signatures are all completely different. A slightly better example for showing the 'compile time polymorphism' concept might be as follows:
class Greeter {
public void greetMe(Object obj) {
System.out.println("Hello Object!");
}
public void greetMe(String str) {
System.out.println("Hello String!");
}
}
Using this greeter class will give the following results:
Object obj = new Object();
String str = "blah";
Object strAsObj = str;
greeter.greetMe(obj); // prints "Hello Object!"
greeter.greetMe(str); // prints "Hello String!"
greeter.greetMe(strAsObj); // prints "Hello Object!"
The compiler will pick out the method with the most specific match using the compile-time type, which is why the 2nd example works and calls the void greetMe(String) method.
The last call is the most interesting one: Even though the run-time type of strAsObj is String, it has been cast as an Object so that's how the compiler sees it. So, the closest match the compiler can find for that call is the void greetMe(Object) method.
Overloaded methods can still be overridden, if that is what you ask.
Overloaded methods are like different families, even though they share the same name. The compiler statically chooses one family given the signature, and then at run time it is dispatched to the most specific method in the class hierarchy.
That is, method dispatching is performed in two steps:
The first one is done at compile time with the static information available, the compiler will emit a call for the signature that matches best your current method parameters among the list of overloaded methods in the declared type of the object the method is invoked upon.
The second step is performed at run time, given the method signature that should be called (previous step, remember?), the JVM will dispatch it to the most concrete overridden version in the actual type of receiver object.
If the method arguments types are not covariant at all, overloading is equivalent to having methods names mangled at compile time; because they are effectively different methods, the JVM won't never ever dispatch them interchangeably depending on the type of the receiver.
What is polymorphism?
Acc. to me: if an entity can be represented in more than one forms, that entity is said to exhibit polymorphism.
Now, lets apply this definition to Java constructs:
1) Operator overloading is compile time polymorphism.
For example, + operator can be used to add two numbers OR to concatenate two strings. it's an example of polymorphism strictly saying compile-time polymorphism.
2) Method overloading is compile time polymorphism.
For example, a method with same name can have more than one implemntations. it's also a compile-time polymorphism.
It's compile-time because before execution of program compiler decides the flow of program i.e which form will be used during run-time.
3) Method overriding is run-time polymorphism.
For example, a method with same signature can have more than one implemenations. it's a run time polymorphism.
4) Base class use in place of derived class is run time polymorphism.
For example, an interface reference can point to any of it's implementor.
It's run-time because the flow of program can't be known before execution i.e. only during run-time it can be decided that which form will be used.
I hope it clears a bit.
Overloading in this respect means that the type of the function is statically determined at compile time as opposed to dynamic dispatch.
What really happens behind the scenes is that for a method named "foo" with types "A" and "B" two methods are created ("foo_A" and "foo_B"). Which of them is to be called is determined at compile-time (foo((A) object) or foo((B) object) result in foo_A being called or foo_B). So in a way this is compile-time polymorphism, although the real method (i.e. which implementation in the class hierarchy to take) is determined at runtime.
I have strong objection to call method overloading as compile time polymorphism.
I agree that method overloading is static binding(compile time) but i didn't see polymorphism in that.
I tried to put my opinion in my question to get clarification. you can refer this link.
This is a purely theoretical question.
Given three simple classes:
class Base {
}
class Sub extends Base {
}
class SubSub extends Sub {
}
And a function meant to operate on these classes:
public static void doSomething(Base b) {
System.out.println("BASE CALLED");
}
public static void doSomething(Sub b) {
System.out.println("SUB CALLED");
}
It seems that the followign code:
SubSub ss = new SubSub();
doSomething(ss);
could legitimately result in printing either BASE CALLED, or SUB CALLED, since SubSub can be casted to both of those. In fact, removing the Sub version of the function causes BASE CALLED to be printed. What actually happens is that "SUB CALLED" is printed. This seems to mean that which function is called doesn't depend on the order the functions are defined in, as the Base version was called first.
Does Java just look at all the different versions of the function and pick the one which requires the smallest traversal up the inheritance stack? Is this standardized? Is it written out in any documentation?
The formal specification can be found in part 15.12.2.5 of the Java Language Specification (JLS). Thanks to generics this is pretty complicated, so you might want to look at same section of the first edition of the JLS.
It basically says that the compiler tries to find a version of the method where all parameters including the object the method is called upon are most specific. If no such method exists (e.g. since you have method(Base, Sub) and method(Sub, Base) but not method(Sub, Sub)), then the compilation fails.
Note that the actual choice of method depends on the dynamic type of the target object for instance methods, but not for the parameters. Your example would still work the same on the instance level.
You should be able to give the compiler a helping hand by casting or redeclaring the type of ss. If the declared type of the variable matches a signature exactly then everything is clear for the compiler and maintenance programmers as well. It doesn't matter if you then assign a more specific type as long as the declared type matches.
As far as I know, Java and C++ make this decision at compilation time (since these are static functions that are not dynamically dispatchable) based on the most specific matching that they can make. If your static type is SubSub and you have an overload that takes SubSub, this is the one that will be invoked. I'm fairly sure it's in both standards.
If you have a reference or pointer to Base, even if it contains a Sub or a SubSub, you will match the version that takes a Base because at compile time, that is the only assurance that the compiler has.
When you have overloaded static methods then it calls that method that is defined immediately in the class which is invoking the method. If however, no method is defined in the calling class then it will invoke the method inherited from its immediate parent class.
In your case there are two overloaded methods both of which can accept SubSub as parameter. the compiler checks for the most specific match and goes for it. But the most specific match is generally the lowest in the type hierarchy.
EDITED
Removed the conflicting statement. Two methods in classes that are at the same type hierarchy level can't be in ambiguous state for the compiler to choose. This ambiguity is possible only in the case of multiple inheritance.
Java binds methods dynamically (in runtime, depending on object instance type, not reference type) but only in context of one method signature. Java binds method signature statically (at compilation time).
In other words, Java makes decision what method (signature) should be called in compile time (statically - reference based - overloading). In runtime Java will take that signature, find proper object in object type hierarchy and execute that method on that dynamically binded object.
Overloading -> what (method signature at compilation time)
Overriding -> from where (object in type hierarchy at runtime)