Can you explain how polymorphism promotes code flexibility?

Polymorphism promotes code flexibility by allowing objects of different types to be treated as objects of a common type.

Polymorphism is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming (OOP) that provides the ability to use an entity in multiple forms. It allows objects of different types to be treated as objects of a common type, which leads to a more flexible and easily managed code.

In essence, polymorphism allows you to write code that does not need to know the exact type of the objects it is working with, as long as they conform to a particular interface or base class. This means that you can write more general code that can work with a wide range of objects, rather than having to write specific code for each individual type. This not only makes your code more flexible, but also more reusable, as the same code can be used with different types of objects.

For example, consider a program that deals with different shapes like circles, rectangles, and triangles. Without polymorphism, you would need to write separate code to handle each type of shape. However, with polymorphism, you can define a common interface or base class for all shapes, and then write code that can work with any shape, regardless of its specific type. This greatly simplifies the code and makes it more flexible, as you can easily add new types of shapes without having to modify the existing code.

Furthermore, polymorphism also promotes code flexibility by enabling late binding or dynamic binding. This means that the method to be invoked is determined at runtime based on the actual type of the object, rather than its declared type at compile time. This allows for more dynamic and flexible behaviour, as the exact behaviour of the code can be determined based on the state of the program at runtime.

In conclusion, polymorphism is a powerful tool in object-oriented programming that greatly enhances code flexibility. By allowing objects of different types to be treated as objects of a common type, it enables more general, reusable, and dynamic code.