{"id":78373,"date":"2020-04-19T10:00:34","date_gmt":"2020-04-19T04:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techvidvan.com\/tutorials\/?p=78373"},"modified":"2024-08-22T20:13:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T14:43:28","slug":"python-polymorphism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techvidvan.com\/tutorials\/python-polymorphism\/","title":{"rendered":"Polymorphism in Python with Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the important concepts under Object-oriented programming is Polymorphism<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll see what is polymorphism in python<\/strong>, how python polymorphism works.<\/p>\n

We will also learn how we can implement it in our own Python programs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What is Polymorphism in Python?<\/h3>\n

Polymorphism gives you the ability to represent objects<\/strong> of different types using a single interface<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A real-life example is You<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You act<\/strong> as a student<\/strong> when you are at college<\/strong>, you act like a son\/daughter<\/strong> when you\u2019re at home<\/strong>, you act like a friend<\/strong> when you\u2019re surrounded by your friends<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now the analogy<\/strong> here is, different personalities<\/strong> of that of a student<\/strong>, a son\/daughter<\/strong>, a friend<\/strong> are all analogous<\/strong> to objects<\/strong> of different types<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And a single interface (i.e., you)<\/strong> represents<\/strong> all these different types( i.e. your different personalities)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Understanding Polymorphism in Python<\/h3>\n

Python can implement polymorphism<\/strong> in many different ways. Python, like many other languages, also provides built-in implementations<\/strong> of Polymorphism.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at the examples that illustrate built-in implementations of polymorphism in Python<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Later in this article, we\u2019ll see the various ways in which we can implement Polymorphism<\/strong> in our own programs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Built-in implementation of Polymorphism<\/h4>\n

a. Polymorphism in \u2018+\u2019 operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • You might have used the \u2018+\u2019 arithmetic<\/strong> python operator multiple times<\/strong> in your programs.<\/li>\n
  • And chances are, you might have used it with multiple different types<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • This right here is an implementation of polymorphism<\/strong> in Python.<\/li>\n
  • You use the same + symbol<\/strong> whether you want to add two integers<\/strong>, or concatenate two strings<\/strong>, or extend two lists<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • The + operator acts differently depending on the type of objects it is operating upon<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    For integers, it performs arithmetic addition and returns an integer:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    >>> x = 1 + 2\r\n>>> print(x)<\/pre>\n
    Output:<\/p>\n
    3
    \n>>><\/div>\n
    Whereas for strings, it concatenates them and returns a new string:<\/strong><\/p>\n
    >>> x = \"TechVidvan says \" + \"Hello\"\r\n>>> print(x)<\/pre>\n
    Output:<\/p>\n
    ‘TechVidvan says Hello’
    \n>>><\/div>\n
    And for two lists, it returns a new list which contains elements of both the original lists:<\/strong><\/p>\n
    >>> x = [1, 2, 3] + [10, \u2018TechVidvan\u2019]\r\n>>> print(x)<\/pre>\n
    Output:<\/p>\n
    [1, 2, 3, 10, \u2018TechVidvan\u2019]
    \n>>><\/div>\n
    b. Polymorphism in built-in method<\/strong><\/p>\n
      \n
    • Python also implements polymorphism<\/strong> using methods<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    • For instance, take the len()<\/strong> method that returns the length<\/strong> of an object<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    • The len()<\/strong> method is capable<\/strong> of processing objects<\/strong> of different data types<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    • Let\u2019s look at the code example below:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      For a list, it returns the number of elements in the list.<\/strong><\/p>\n
      >>> l = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]\r\n>>> length = len(l)\r\n>>> print(length)<\/pre>\n
      Output:<\/p>\n
      5
      \n>>><\/div>\n
      For a string, it returns the number of characters within it.<\/strong><\/p>\n
      >>> s = \u201cTechVidvan\u201d\r\n>>> length = len(s)\r\n>>> print(length)<\/pre>\n
      Output:<\/p>\n
      10
      \n>>><\/div>\n
      For python dictionary, it returns the number of keys.<\/strong><\/p>\n
      >>> d = {1: \u201cArchie\u201d, 2: \u201cBrady\u201d, 3: \u201cCharlie\u201d}\r\n>>> length = len(d)\r\n>>> print(length)<\/pre>\n
      Output<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
      3
      \n>>><\/div>\n
      We have got a high-level view<\/strong> of what polymorphism<\/strong> is and how Python implements<\/strong> it.<\/p>\n
      Let\u2019s now dive into how we can implement polymorphism<\/strong> ourselves in our Python program<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
      Polymorphism in user-defined methods<\/h4>\n
      In the below example, we have two classes<\/strong> \u2018Rectangle\u2019<\/strong> and \u2018Square\u2019<\/strong>. Both these classes have a method definition \u2018area\u2019<\/strong>, that calculates the area of the corresponding shapes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
      class Rectangle:\r\n    def __init__(self, length, breadth):\r\n        self.l = length\r\n        self.b = breadth\r\n\r\n    def area(self):\r\n        return self.l * self.b\r\n\r\nclass Square:\r\n    def __init__(self, side):\r\n        self.s = side\r\n\r\n    def area(self):\r\n        return self.s ** 2\r\n\r\nrec = Rectangle(10, 20)\r\nsqu = Square(10)\r\n\r\nprint(\"Area of rectangle is: \", rec.area())\r\nprint(\"Area of square is: \", squ.area())<\/pre>\n
      Output<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
      Area of rectangle is: 200
      \nArea of square is: 100
      \n>>><\/div>\n
      Here, we implemented polymorphism<\/strong> using the method area()<\/strong>. This method works on objects<\/strong> of the types<\/strong>– Rectangle<\/strong> and Square<\/strong>. And it operates differently<\/strong> on objects<\/strong> of different classes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
      We can also achieve polymorphism<\/strong> with inheritance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
      Let\u2019s see how.<\/p>\n
      Polymorphism with Inheritance in python<\/h4>\n
      A child class<\/strong> inherits<\/strong> all the attributes<\/strong> and methods<\/strong> of its parent class<\/strong>. But we can provide one<\/strong> or more<\/strong> methods<\/strong> with a different<\/strong> method<\/strong> definition within the child class<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
      We call this process \u201cmethod overriding\u201d<\/strong> and such methods \u201coverridden\u201d<\/strong> methods.<\/p>\n
      Overridden methods have the exact same external interface (method name, number, and type of method parameters) as the parent class\u2019s method but have a different internal implementation. This allows the child class to tailor or extend the functionality of the parent class to meet specific needs.<\/p>\n
      By using method overriding, we achieve polymorphism, where the same method name can exhibit different behaviors depending on the object that invokes it. This enhances code reusability and makes our programs more flexible and easier to maintain.<\/p>\n
      Let\u2019s look at a very simple example:<\/p>\n
      #parent class\r\nclass Human:\r\n    def who_am_i(self):\r\n        print(\"I am a Human\")\r\n\r\n#child class\r\nclass Teacher(Human):\r\n    def who_am_i(self):\r\n        print(\"I am a Teacher\")\r\n\r\n\r\nt = Teacher()\r\nt.who_am_i()<\/pre>\n
      Output<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
      I am a Teacher<\/div>\n
      Here, we implement polymorphism by overriding<\/strong> the method who_am_i()<\/strong> and providing it with a different implementation<\/strong> in the child class Teacher.<\/p>\n
      Summary<\/h3>\n
      Hope you got a clear understanding of what polymorphism<\/strong> is and how do we implement<\/strong> it in Python. You\u2019ll come across Polymorphism in many languages<\/strong> that support object-oriented programming paradigm<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
      So make sure to be thorough while understanding it.<\/p>\n
      In other languages, we can achieve polymorphism with method overloading<\/strong> too, but Python<\/strong> does not support<\/strong> it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
      One of the important concepts under Object-oriented programming is Polymorphism. In this article, we\u2019ll see what is polymorphism in python, how python polymorphism works. We will also learn how we can implement it in...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":78374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1053],"tags":[2475,2476,2477,2478],"class_list":["post-78373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-python","tag-polymorphism-in-python","tag-polymorphism-in-python-example","tag-python-polymorphism","tag-python-polymorphism-example"],"yoast_head":"\nPolymorphism in Python with Examples - TechVidvan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn polymorphism in Python - What is polymorphism, built in implementation of polymorphism, polymorphism with inheritance,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/techvidvan.com\/tutorials\/python-polymorphism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Polymorphism in Python with Examples - 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