What is polymorphism in Object Oriented Programming?

Polymorphism is a fundamental concept in Object Oriented Programming (OOP) that allows objects of different classes to be treated as objects of a common superclass. It is the ability of an object to take on many forms or have multiple behaviors.

In OOP, polymorphism enables the same method or operation to be performed on different objects, regardless of their specific class. This is achieved through method overriding and method overloading.

Method overriding is when a subclass provides its own implementation of a method that is already defined in its superclass. This allows the subclass to provide a specialized behavior while still maintaining the same method signature. When the overridden method is called on an object of the subclass, the subclass's implementation is executed instead of the superclass's implementation.

Method overloading, on the other hand, is when multiple methods with the same name but different parameters are defined within a class. The compiler determines which method to invoke based on the number, type, and order of the arguments passed during the method call. This allows for different variations of a method to be defined, each catering to different parameter types or quantities.

Polymorphism promotes code reusability, flexibility, and extensibility. It allows for the creation of generic code that can operate on objects of different types, reducing the need for duplicate code. It also simplifies code maintenance and enhances the readability of the codebase.

An example of polymorphism can be seen in a program that models different shapes, such as circles, squares, and triangles. Each shape can have a common superclass called "Shape" with a method called "calculateArea()". Each subclass, such as "Circle", "Square", and "Triangle", can override the "calculateArea()" method to provide its own implementation based on its specific shape formula. When the "calculateArea()" method is called on an object of any shape, the appropriate implementation is executed based on the actual type of the object.

In conclusion, polymorphism is a powerful concept in OOP that allows for the flexibility and extensibility of code by treating objects of different classes as objects of a common superclass. It enables the same method to be performed on different objects, promoting code reusability and simplifying code maintenance.