Python Polymorphism

Python Polymorphism

The word "polymorphism" means "many forms", and in programming it refers to methods/functions/operators with the same name that can be executed on many objects or classes.

Function Polymorphism

An example of a Python function that can be used on different objects is the len() function.

• For strings len() returns the number of characters.
• For lists/tuples len() returns the number of items.
• For dictionaries len() returns the number of key/value pairs.

Class Polymorphism

Polymorphism is often used in Class methods, where we can have multiple classes with the same method name.

For example, say we have three classes: Car, Boat, and Plane, and they all have a method called move():

class Car:
  def move(self):
    print("Drive!")

class Boat:
  def move(self):
    print("Sail!")
class Plane:
  def move(self):
    print("Fly!")
car1 = Car()
boat1 = Boat()
plane1 = Plane()
for x in (car1, boat1, plane1):
  x.move()