Polymorphism & Virtual Functions

Imagine we are creating a software system for a zoo. In this system, we need to manage different types of animals, such as lions, tigers, and bears. They all share some common characteristics, but each animal also has its own unique behaviors, like eating, sleeping, and making sounds. However, we want to handle all animals in a generic way. But how can we do this?

This is where polymorphism comes into play. Polymorphism allows us to create a common interface for all objects (animals). This enables us to manage these objects as if they were of the same type while also allowing each animal to exhibit his own specific behavior.

What is Polymorphism?

Polymorphism is one of the core concepts of OOP that allows objects of different classes to be treated as objects of a common base class. It's like having a generic term that can represent different specific things.

The term Polymorphism means the ability to take many forms. It occurs if there is a hierarchy of classes which are all related to each other by inheritance.