The term "Polymorphism" is the combination of "poly" + "morphs" which means many forms. It is a greek word. In object-oriented programming, we use 3 main concepts: inheritance, encapsulation and polymorphism.
There are two types of polymorphism in C++:
- Compile time polymorphism: It is achieved by function overloading and operator overloading which is also known as static binding or early binding.
- Runtime polymorphism: It is achieved by method overriding which is also known as dynamic binding or late binding.
C++ Runtime Polymorphism Example
Let's see a simple example of runtime polymorphism in C++.
Output:
Eating bread...
C++ Runtime Polymorphism Example: By using two derived class
Let's see another example of runtime polymorphism in C++ where we are having two derived classes.
Output:
drawing... drawing rectangle... drawing circle...
Runtime Polymorphism with Data Members
Runtime Polymorphism can be achieved by data members in C++. Let's see an example where we are accessing the field by reference variable which refers to the instance of derived class.
Output:
Black