Object Oriented Programming Questions Long
Method overriding is a fundamental concept in Object Oriented Programming (OOP) that allows a subclass to provide a different implementation of a method that is already defined in its superclass. In other words, it is the ability of a subclass to redefine the behavior of an inherited method from its superclass.
When a subclass inherits a method from its superclass, it can choose to override that method by providing its own implementation. This allows the subclass to customize the behavior of the inherited method according to its specific requirements, without modifying the original implementation in the superclass.
To override a method, the subclass must declare a method with the same name, return type, and parameters as the method in the superclass. The keyword "override" is often used to explicitly indicate that the method is intended to override a superclass method, although it is not mandatory in all programming languages.
When an overridden method is called on an object of the subclass, the runtime environment determines which version of the method to execute based on the actual type of the object. If the object is an instance of the subclass, the overridden method in the subclass will be invoked. If the object is an instance of the superclass, the original method in the superclass will be executed.
Method overriding is a powerful mechanism in OOP as it allows for polymorphism, which means that objects of different classes can be treated as objects of the same superclass. This enables code reusability, flexibility, and extensibility in software development.
It is important to note that method overriding is only applicable to instance methods, not to static methods or variables. Static methods and variables are resolved at compile-time based on the declared type of the variable, whereas instance methods are resolved at runtime based on the actual type of the object.
In conclusion, method overriding in Object Oriented Programming allows a subclass to provide its own implementation of an inherited method from its superclass. It promotes code reusability, flexibility, and polymorphism, enabling objects of different classes to be treated as objects of the same superclass.