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Software Engineering vocabulary · Programming Concepts

Polymorphism

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

nounCommon term

In software engineering, polymorphism means: The ability to use different implementations through a shared interface while each implementation provides its own behavior.

In Turkish: çok biçimlilik

How it is used

Used in interface design and object-oriented programming to explain how callers work with several types without handling every concrete type separately.

Example sentences

  1. Polymorphism lets the exporter write to a file or a network stream through the same interface.

  2. This example demonstrates polymorphism with two implementations of the storage interface.

Common collocations

  • runtime polymorphism
  • support polymorphism
  • interface-based polymorphism
  • interfaceIn programming, a list of methods that a class promises to provide, without saying how they work. More generally, the point where two systems, or a user and a system, meet.
  • methodA function that belongs to a class or object and usually works with that object's data, for example user.save() or list.sort().
  • inheritanceA relationship in which a class receives behavior or structure from another class and can add or change selected parts.

More terms: Programming Concepts

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