Python Polymorphism
In the basic English language, Polymorphism means to exist in different states. The same object or thing changing its state from one form to another is known as polymorphic. The same function or method, being used differently in different scenarios, can perfectly describe Polymorphism. It occurs mostly with base and derived classes.
Understanding Polymorphism in Python:
The concept of Polymorphism has very strong ties with the method overriding concept that we will learn in the next tutorial, i.e., tutorial#65 of this course, along with the super() function. In Python, it is mostly related to objects or the values of variables that are assigned in different classes. For example, suppose a method in the child class has the same name as the methods in the parent class, and also they take the same number of variables as parameters. In that case, the child class will inherit the methods from the parent class and will override the method too. Meaning that the compiler will execute the method in the child because it will be the first place it looks while searching for the method when called. By overriding a method, we can also add some more functionalities in it, so in a way modifying the method in the child class but letting it remain the same in the parent class.
For example:
len("Python") # returns 6 as result
len([1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]) # returns 9 as resultPython also implements Polymorphism using methods. The len() method returns the length of an object. In this case, the function len() is polymorphic as it is taking a string as input in the first case, which returns the total length/characters of the string, and in the second case, it is taking list as input.
Polymorphism is a very important concept. Although being a theoretical concept, it is of great importance as it teaches us to use one entity, let it be a method or variable, differently at different places. By applying the concept of Polymorphism, we can save our time and make our code more efficient and compact by using the DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) concept, which is the basis of Oop.
We can apply the concept of Polymorphism to the methods, objects, functions, and inheritance. Even though the syntax and rules differ, but the concept remains the same.
Polymorphism in '+' operator:-
Take a look at the below example:
print(5+6)
print("5" + "6")In the above example, we have used the '+' arithmetic python operator two times in our programs. This is an example of the implementation of Polymorphism in Python. We can use the same + operator to add two integers, concatenate two strings, or extend two lists. The + arithmetic operator acts differently depending on the type of objects it is operating upon.