Greetings! In today's lesson, we'll unravel the concept of polymorphism in Kotlin's Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). Grasping polymorphism enables us to use a single entity (a method, class, or interface) to represent different types in various scenarios. Let's proceed.
Polymorphism, a pillar of OOP, allows one object to embody multiple forms. Visualize a button in software; depending on its type (for instance, a submit button or a radio button), the action resulting from pressing it varies. This dynamic encapsulates the spirit of polymorphism!
Kotlin supports various types of polymorphism. Run-time polymorphism, also known as dynamic polymorphism, occurs during runtime and leverages method overriding. Let's observe dynamic polymorphism in action within a simple application involving shapes. The base Shape
class has an area
method, which calculates the area for shapes. This method is uniquely implemented in the subclasses Rectangle
and Circle
.
Here, polymorphism shines as the area()
method takes on multiple forms while using the same abstract class. It behaves differently depending on whether the object is a or a .
