CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javainheritancepolymorphismoverloadingoverriding
akx
akx

Reputation: 60

Function overloading vs function overriding across inherited classes in java

Consider the following piece of code

public class SuperClass
{
    //label 1
    void function(int a)
    {
        System.out.println(a);
    }
}

public class SubClass extends SuperClass
{
    //label 2
    void function(int a)
    {
        a++;
        System.out.println(a);
    }

    //label 3
    void function(float a)
    {
        System.out.println(a);
    }   
}

From what I have learnt, label 2 is an example of function overriding because a superclass method is being re-written in the sub class with its own implementation, while label 3 is a form of function overloading because the parameters are different while the function name is same.

My question is if label 3 is in fact function overloading, which function is it overloading? Label 1 or label 2?

My theory is that label 3 is overloading label 2 because they are part of the same class.

I have come across these links -

Does overloading work with Inheritance?

Different ways of Method Overloading in Java

while they provide useful information, they don't really answer my question.

This is only a conceptual question I had while learning polymorphism in Java. Any help would be appreciated.

Upvotes: 2

Views: 131

Answers (2)

Avinash
Avinash

Reputation: 4279

Overloading occurs within a class, so, your assumption is correct.

label 2 and label 3 are overloaded

Upvotes: 1

T.J. Crowder
T.J. Crowder

Reputation: 1074285

My question is if label 3 is in fact function overloading, which function is it overloading? Label 1 or label 2?

Label 2, because the overloading only appears within SubClass. There is no overload in SuperClass. (Although you could argue that since label 2 overrides label 1, the answer is sort of "both," but in any context where the overload actually occurs, you'd have to have the override — e.g., you'd have to be dealing with a SubClass reference — so really it's just label 2.)

Upvotes: 3

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