C++ Polymorphism

The word “polymorphism” means having many forms. In simple words, we can define polymorphism as the ability of a message to be displayed in more than one form. A real-life example of polymorphism is a person who at the same time can have different characteristics. A man at the same time is a father, a husband, and an employee. So the same person exhibits different behavior in different situations. This is called polymorphism. Polymorphism is considered one of the important features of Object-Oriented Programming.

Types of Polymorphism

• Compile-time Polymorphism
• Runtime Polymorphism

Types of Polymorphism

1. Compile-Time Polymorphism

This type of polymorphism is achieved by function overloading or operator overloading.

A. Function Overloading

When there are multiple functions with the same name but different parameters, then the functions are said to be overloaded, hence this is known as Function Overloading. Functions can be overloaded by changing the number of arguments or/and changing the type of arguments. In simple terms, it is a feature of object-oriented programming providing many functions that have the same name but distinct parameters when numerous tasks are listed under one function name. There are certain Rules of Function Overloading that should be followed while overloading a function.

Below is the C++ program to show function overloading or compile-time polymorphism:

C++

// C++ program to demonstrate
// function overloading or
// Compile-time Polymorphism
#include <bits/stdc++.h>

using namespace std;
class Geeks {
public:
    // Function with 1 int parameter
    void func(int x)
    {
        cout << "value of x is " << x << endl;
    }

    // Function with same name but
    // 1 double parameter
    void func(double x)
    {
        cout << "value of x is " << x << endl;
    }

    // Function with same name and
    // 2 int parameters
    void func(int x, int y)
    {
        cout << "value of x and y is " << x << ", " << y
             << endl;
    }
};

// Driver code
int main()
{
    Geeks obj1;

    // Function being called depends
    // on the parameters passed
    // func() is called with int value
    obj1.func(7);

    // func() is called with double value
    obj1.func(9.132);

    // func() is called with 2 int values
    obj1.func(85, 64);
    return 0;
}

Output

value of x is 7
value of x is 9.132
value of x and y is 85, 64

Explanation: In the above example, a single function named function func() acts differently in three different situations, which is a property of polymorphism. To know more about this, you can refer to the article – Function Overloading in C++.

B. Operator Overloading

C++ has the ability to provide the operators with a special meaning for a data type, this ability is known as operator overloading. For example, we can make use of the addition operator (+) for string class to concatenate two strings. We know that the task of this operator is to add two operands. So a single operator ‘+’, when placed between integer operands, adds them and when placed between string operands, concatenates them. 

Below is the C++ program to demonstrate operator overloading:

CPP

// C++ program to demonstrate
// Operator Overloading or
// Compile-Time Polymorphism
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Complex {
private:
    int real, imag;

public:
    Complex(int r = 0, int i = 0)
    {
        real = r;
        imag = i;
    }

    // This is automatically called
    // when '+' is used with between
    // two Complex objects
    Complex operator+(Complex const& obj)
    {
        Complex res;
        res.real = real + obj.real;
        res.imag = imag + obj.imag;
        return res;
    }
    void print() { cout << real << " + i" << imag << endl; }
};

// Driver code
int main()
{
    Complex c1(10, 5), c2(2, 4);

    // An example call to "operator+"
    Complex c3 = c1 + c2;
    c3.print();
}

Output

12 + i9

Explanation:  In the above example, the operator ‘+’ is overloaded. Usually, this operator is used to add two numbers (integers or floating point numbers), but here the operator is made to perform the addition of two imaginary or complex numbers. To know more about this one, refer to the article – Operator Overloading.

2. Runtime Polymorphism

This type of polymorphism is achieved by Function Overriding. Late binding and dynamic polymorphism are other names for runtime polymorphism. The function call is resolved at runtime in runtime polymorphism. In contrast, with compile time polymorphism, the compiler determines which function call to bind to the object after deducing it at runtime.

A. Function Overriding

Function Overriding occurs when a derived class has a definition for one of the member functions of the base class. That base function is said to be overridden.

Function overriding Explanation

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 the derived class.

C++

// C++ program for function overriding with data members
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

//  base class declaration.
class Animal {
public:
    string color = "Black";
};

// inheriting Animal class.
class Dog : public Animal {
public:
    string color = "Grey";
};

// Driver code
int main(void)
{
    Animal d = Dog(); // accessing the field by reference
                      // variable which refers to derived
    cout << d.color;
}

Output

Black

B. Virtual Function

A virtual function is a member function that is declared in the base class using the keyword virtual and is re-defined (Overridden) in the derived class.

Some Key Points About Virtual Functions:

• Virtual functions are Dynamic in nature. 
• They are defined by inserting the keyword “virtual” inside a base class and are always declared with a base class and overridden in a child class
• A virtual function is called during Runtime

Below is the C++ program to demonstrate virtual function:

C++

// C++ Program to demonstrate
// the Virtual Function
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

// Declaring a Base class
class GFG_Base {

public:
    // virtual function
    virtual void display()
    {
        cout << "Called virtual Base Class function"
             << "\n\n";
    }

    void print()
    {
        cout << "Called GFG_Base print function"
             << "\n\n";
    }
};

// Declaring a Child Class
class GFG_Child : public GFG_Base {

public:
    void display()
    {
        cout << "Called GFG_Child Display Function"
             << "\n\n";
    }

    void print()
    {
        cout << "Called GFG_Child print Function"
             << "\n\n";
    }
};

// Driver code
int main()
{
    // Create a reference of class GFG_Base
    GFG_Base* base;

    GFG_Child child;

    base = &child;

    // This will call the virtual function
    base->GFG_Base::display();

    // this will call the non-virtual function
    base->print();
}

Output

Called virtual Base Class function

Called GFG_Base print function

Example 2:

C++

// C++ program for virtual function overriding
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

class base {
public:
    virtual void print()
    {
        cout << "print base class" << endl;
    }

    void show() { cout << "show base class" << endl; }
};

class derived : public base {
public:
    // print () is already virtual function in
    // derived class, we could also declared as
    // virtual void print () explicitly
    void print() { cout << "print derived class" << endl; }

    void show() { cout << "show derived class" << endl; }
};

// Driver code
int main()
{
    base* bptr;
    derived d;
    bptr = &d;

    // Virtual function, binded at
    // runtime (Runtime polymorphism)
    bptr->print();

    // Non-virtual function, binded
    // at compile time
    bptr->show();

    return 0;
}

Output

print derived class
show base class

This article is contributed by Harsh Agarwal. If you like GeeksforGeeks and would like to contribute, you can also write an article using write.geeksforgeeks.org. See your article appearing on the GeeksforGeeks main page and help other Geeks. Please write comments if you find anything incorrect, or if you want to share more information about the topic discussed above.