Scribd
Upload
11 views2 pages

Overriding Vs Overloading

Overriding and overloading are two important concepts in Java that are often confused. Overriding occurs when two methods have the same name and signature but exist in a parent and child class. Overloading occurs when two methods have the same name but different parameters within the same class. The key differences are that overriding uses the object's actual type at runtime to determine the method called, while overloading uses the reference type at compile time. Polymorphism applies to overriding but not overloading. Examples are provided to illustrate overriding, where a child class overrides a parent's method, and overloading, where methods have the same name but different parameters.

Uploaded by

letogi7085
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
11 views2 pages

Overriding Vs Overloading

Overriding and overloading are two important concepts in Java that are often confused. Overriding occurs when two methods have the same name and signature but exist in a parent and child class. Overloading occurs when two methods have the same name but different parameters within the same class. The key differences are that overriding uses the object's actual type at runtime to determine the method called, while overloading uses the reference type at compile time. Polymorphism applies to overriding but not overloading. Examples are provided to illustrate overriding, where a child class overrides a parent's method, and overloading, where methods have the same name but different parameters.

Uploaded by

letogi7085
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Overriding vs.

Overloading in Java

Overriding and Overloading are two very important concepts in Java. They are
confusing for Java novice programmers. This post illustrates their differences by using
two simple examples.
1. Definitions
Overloading occurs when two or more methods in one class have the same method
name but different parameters.
Overriding means having two methods with the same method name and parameters
(i.e., method signature). One of the methods is in the parent class and the other is in
the child class. Overriding allows a child class to provide a specific implementation of
a method that is already provided its parent class.
2. Overriding vs. Overloading
Here are some important facts about Overriding and Overloading:

1). The real object type in the run-time, not the reference variable's type, determines
which overridden method is used at runtime. In contrast, reference type determines
which overloaded method will be used at compile time.
2). Polymorphism applies to overriding, not to overloading.
3). Overriding is a run-time concept while overloading is a compile-time concept.
3. An Example of Overriding
Here is an example of overriding. After reading the code, guess the output.

class Dog{
public void bark(){
System.out.println("woof ");
}
}
class Hound extends Dog{
public void sniff(){
System.out.println("sniff ");
}

public void bark(){


System.out.println("bowl");
}
}

public class OverridingTest{


public static void main(String [] args){
Dog dog = new Hound();
dog.bark();
}
}
Output:

bowl

In the example above, the dog variable is declared to be a Dog. During compile time,
the compiler checks if the Dog class has the bark() method. As long as the Dog class has
the bark() method, the code compilers. At run-time, a Hound is created and assigned to
dog. The JVM knows that dog is referring to the object of Hound, so it calls the bark()
method of Hound. This is called Dynamic Polymorphism.
4. An Example of Overloading
class Dog{
public void bark(){
System.out.println("woof ");
}

//overloading method
public void bark(int num){
for(int i=0; i<num; i++)
System.out.println("woof ");
}
}
In this overloading example, the two bark method can be invoked by using different
parameters. Compiler know they are different because they have different method
signature (method name and method parameter list).

You might also like