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Polymorphism can be distinguished by when the implementation is selected: statically (at compile time) or dynamically (at run time, typically via a virtual function). This is known respectively as static dispatch and dynamic dispatch, and the corresponding forms of polymorphism are accordingly called static polymorphism and dynamic polymorphism.
In computer science, dynamic dispatch is the process of selecting which implementation of a polymorphic operation (method or function) to call at run time.It is commonly employed in, and considered a prime characteristic of, object-oriented programming (OOP) languages and systems.
Roberts (p. 171) gives a related example in Java, using a Class to represent a stack frame. The example given is a solution to the Tower of Hanoi problem wherein a stack simulates polymorphic recursion with a beginning, temporary and ending nested stack substitution structure.
In some systems for object-oriented programming such as the Common Lisp Object System (CLOS) [1] and Dylan, a generic function is an entity made up of all methods having the same name. Typically a generic function is an instance of a class that inherits both from function and standard-object .
This is true for programming languages such as Java. [10] Function overloading differs from forms of polymorphism where the choice is made at runtime, e.g. through virtual functions, instead of statically. Example: Function overloading in C++
In computer programming, operator overloading, sometimes termed operator ad hoc polymorphism, is a specific case of polymorphism, where different operators have different implementations depending on their arguments. Operator overloading is generally defined by a programming language, a programmer, or both.
The instance Num_ a is essentially a record that contains the instance definition of Num a. (This is in fact how type classes are implemented under the hood by the Glasgow Haskell Compiler.) However, there is a crucial difference: implicit parameters are more flexible; different instances of Num Int can be passed.
Impredicative polymorphism (also called first-class polymorphism) is the most powerful form of parametric polymorphism. [1]: 340 In formal logic, a definition is said to be impredicative if it is self-referential; in type theory, it refers to the ability for a type to be in the domain of a quantifier it contains. This allows the instantiation ...