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Function overloading differs from forms of polymorphism where the choice is made at runtime, e.g. through virtual functions, instead of statically. Example: Function overloading in C++
Polymorphism can be distinguished by when the implementation is selected: statically (at compile time) or dynamically (at run time, typically via a virtual function). This is known respectively as static dispatch and dynamic dispatch, and the corresponding forms of polymorphism are accordingly called static polymorphism and dynamic polymorphism.
Since C++ does not support late binding, the virtual table in a C++ object cannot be modified at runtime, which limits the potential set of dispatch targets to a finite set chosen at compile time. Type overloading does not produce dynamic dispatch in C++ as the language considers the types of the message parameters part of the formal message name.
And even if methods owned by the base class call the virtual method, they will instead be calling the derived method. Overloading occurs when two or more methods in one class have the same method name but different parameters. Overriding means having two methods with the same method name and parameters. Overloading is also referred to as ...
Examples are templates in C++, and generic programming in Fortran and other languages, in conjunction with function overloading (including operator overloading). Code is said to be monomorphised , with specific data types deduced and traced through the call graph , in order to instantiate specific versions of generic functions , and select ...
Ad hoc polymorphism is a dispatch mechanism: control moving through one named function is dispatched to various other functions without having to specify the exact function being called. Overloading allows multiple functions taking different types to be defined with the same name; the compiler or interpreter automatically ensures that the right ...
The run-time binder will choose the appropriate method overload at run-time. This decision will take into consideration the run-time type of the object instance (polymorphism) as well as the run-time type of the argument.
There is some run-time cost associated with dynamically dispatching function calls. In some languages, [citation needed] the distinction between overloading and multimethods can be blurred, with the compiler determining whether compile time selection can be applied to a given function call, or whether slower run time dispatch is needed.