Polymorphism Glossary

Browse 13 polymorphism terms defined in plain English, from the cultural dictionary of computing.

13 Polymorphism Terms

Method Dispatch
The mechanism by which a language runtime determines which concrete method implementation to invoke for a given call, either at compile time (static dispatch)...
Method Override
A subclass providing its own implementation of a method already defined in a parent class, so that calls on the subclass instance execute the new behavior...
Multiple Dispatch
A dispatch mechanism where the method to call is determined by the runtime types of all arguments, not just the receiver — central to Julia and available in...
Operator Overloading
A language feature that allows developers to redefine the behavior of built-in operators (like +, ==, []) for custom types, enabling natural syntax for...
Overload
To define multiple functions or methods with the same name but different parameter lists (type, number, or order of arguments), allowing the compiler or...
Override
To redefine a method inherited from a parent class in a subclass, replacing the parent's implementation with new behavior while preserving the same method...
Rust Trait
A named set of method signatures (and optionally default implementations) that types can implement to satisfy a shared interface. Traits enable bounded...
Subtype
A type that can be safely used wherever its supertype is expected, satisfying the Liskov Substitution Principle. If `Cat` is a subtype of `Animal`, then any...
Trait
A language construct that defines shared behavior as a set of method signatures (and optionally default implementations) that types can implement. Used in...
Type Class
A Haskell construct that defines a set of functions that can be implemented for different types, enabling ad-hoc polymorphism. Similar to traits or interfaces...
Type Parameter
A placeholder type variable declared in angle brackets (e.g., `<T>`) on a generic function, class, or interface that is replaced with a concrete type when the...
Virtual Function
A member function declared with the virtual keyword in C++ (or overridable by default in Java/C#) that supports dynamic dispatch — the actual function called...
Virtual Method
A method declared in a base class (with the 'virtual' keyword in C++ or C#) that can be overridden by subclasses, with the actual implementation selected at...

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