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What is the difference between method overloading and overriding?

JavaOOPPolymorphism

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Question

Explain method overloading and method overriding in Java with examples.

Answer

Method Overloading:

- Same method name, different parameters

- Compile-time polymorphism

- Can have different return types

- Within the same class

Method Overriding:

- Same method signature in parent and child class

- Runtime polymorphism

- Must have same return type (or covariant)

- In different classes (inheritance)

Example:

// Overloading
class Calculator {
    int add(int a, int b) { return a + b; }
    double add(double a, double b) { return a + b; }
}

// Overriding
class Animal {
    void makeSound() { System.out.println("Animal sound"); }
}

class Dog extends Animal {
    @Override
    void makeSound() { System.out.println("Bark"); }
}

Explanation

Overloading is resolved at compile time based on method signature, while overriding is resolved at runtime based on the actual object type.