| Introduction to OOP | Chapter 14: Polymorphism and Software Reuse: | next | previous | audio | real | text |
From greek routes, poly = many, and Morphos = form (Morphus was the greek god of sleep, who could assume many forms, and from which we derive the name Morphine, among other things).
A polymorphic compound can crystalize in many forms, such as carbon, which can be graphite, diamonds, or fullerenes.
In programming languages, used for a variety of different mechanisms.
Usage of the term is confused by the fact that it means something
slightly different in the functional programming community than it
does in the OO world.)