C# Member Overloading

If we create two or more members having same name but different in number or
type of parameter, it is known as member overloading. In C#, we can overload:

o methods,
o constructors, and
o indexed properties

It is because these members have parameters only.

C# Method Overloading
Having two or more methods with same name but different in parameters, is known
as method overloading in C#.

The advantage of method overloading is that it increases the readability of the

program because you don't need to use different names for same action.

You can perform method overloading in C# by two ways:

1. By changing number of arguments

2. By changing data type of the arguments

C# Method Overloading Example: By changing no. of

arguments
Let's see the simple example of method overloading where we are changing number
of arguments of add() method.

1. using System;  
2. public class Cal{  
3.     public static int add(int a,int b){  
4.         return a + b;  
5.     }  
6.     public static int add(int a, int b, int c)  
7.     {  
8.         return a + b + c;  
9.     }  
10. }  
11. public class TestMemberOverloading  
12. {  
13.     public static void Main()  
14.     {  
15.         Console.WriteLine(Cal.add(12, 23));  
16.         Console.WriteLine(Cal.add(12, 23, 25));  
17.     }  
18. }  

Output:

35
60

C# Member Overloading Example: By changing data type of

arguments
Let's see the another example of method overloading where we are changing data
type of arguments.

1. using System;  
2. public class Cal{  
3.     public static int add(int a, int b){  
4.         return a + b;  
5.     }  
6.     public static float add(float a, float b)  
7.     {  
8.         return a + b;  
9.     }  
10. }  
11. public class TestMemberOverloading  
12. {  
13.     public static void Main()  
14.     {  
15.         Console.WriteLine(Cal.add(12, 23));  
16.         Console.WriteLine(Cal.add(12.4f,21.3f));  
17.     }  
18. }  

Output:
35
33.7

C# Method Overriding
If derived class defines same method as defined in its base class, it is known as
method overriding in C#. It is used to achieve runtime polymorphism. It enables you
to provide specific implementation of the method which is already provided by its
base class.

To perform method overriding in C#, you need to use virtual keyword with base

class method and override keyword with derived class method.

C# Method Overriding Example

Let's see a simple example of method overriding in C#. In this example, we are
overriding the eat() method by the help of override keyword.

1. using System;  
2. public class Animal{  
3.     public virtual void eat(){  
4.         Console.WriteLine("Eating...");  
5.     }  
6. }  
7. public class Dog: Animal  
8. {  
9.     public override void eat()  
10.     {  
11.         Console.WriteLine("Eating bread...");  
12.     }  
13. }  
14. public class TestOverriding  
15. {  
16.     public static void Main()  
17.     {  
18.         Dog d = new Dog();  
19.         d.eat();  
20.     }  
21. }  

Output:
Eating bread...

C# Polymorphism
The term "Polymorphism" is the combination of "poly" + "morphs" which means
many forms. It is a greek word. In object-oriented programming, we use 3 main
concepts: inheritance, encapsulation and polymorphism.

There are two types of polymorphism in C#: compile time polymorphism and
runtime polymorphism. Compile time polymorphism is achieved by method
overloading and operator overloading in C#. It is also known as static binding or
early binding. Runtime polymorphism in achieved by method overriding which is also
known as dynamic binding or late binding.

C# Runtime Polymorphism Example

Let's see a simple example of runtime polymorphism in C#.

1. using System;  
2. public class Animal{  
3.     public virtual void eat(){  
4.         Console.WriteLine("eating...");  
5.     }  
6. }  
7. public class Dog: Animal  
8. {  
9.     public override void eat()  
10.     {  
11.         Console.WriteLine("eating bread...");  
12.     }  
13.       
14. }  
15. public class TestPolymorphism  
16. {  
17.     public static void Main()  
18.     {  
19.         Animal a= new Dog();  
20.         a.eat();  
21.     }  
22. }  
Output:

eating bread...

C# Runtime Polymorphism Example 2

Let's see a another example of runtime polymorphism in C# where we are having two
derived classes.

1. using System;  
2. public class Shape{  
3.     public virtual void draw(){  
4.         Console.WriteLine("drawing...");  
5.     }  
6. }  
7. public class Rectangle: Shape  
8. {  
9.     public override void draw()  
10.     {  
11.         Console.WriteLine("drawing rectangle...");  
12.     }  
13.       
14. }  
15. public class Circle : Shape  
16. {  
17.     public override void draw()  
18.     {  
19.         Console.WriteLine("drawing circle...");  
20.     }  
21.   
22. }  
23. public class TestPolymorphism  
24. {  
25.     public static void Main()  
26.     {  
27.         Shape s;  
28.         s = new Shape();  
29.         s.draw();  
30.         s = new Rectangle();  
31.         s.draw();  
32.         s = new Circle();  
33.         s.draw();  
34.   
35.     }  
36. }  

Output:

drawing...
drawing rectangle...
drawing circle...

Runtime Polymorphism with Data Members

Runtime Polymorphism can't be achieved by data members in C#. Let's see an
example where we are accessing the field by reference variable which refers to the
instance of derived class.

1. using System;  
2. public class Animal{  
3.     public string color = "white";  
4.   
5. }  
6. public class Dog: Animal  
7. {  
8.     public string color = "black";  
9. }  
10. public class TestSealed  
11. {  
12.     public static void Main()  
13.     {  
14.         Animal d = new Dog();  
15.         Console.WriteLine(d.color);  
16.     
17.     }  
18. }  

Output:

white