What is the Difference Between Polymorphism and Inheritance in OOP?

06/23/2025 • Giovanni Medeiros

Inheritance and polymorphism are two important concepts in object-oriented programming (OOP) that serve different purposes and operate at different levels.

Inheritance:

  1. Inheritance is a concept in OOP that allows a new class (derived class or subclass) to inherit properties and methods from an existing class (base class or superclass).
  2. It promotes code reusability and supports hierarchical relationships between classes.
  3. Inheritance can be single, hybrid, multiple, hierarchical, and multilevel inheritance.
  4. It is mainly applied to classes.

Polymorphism:

  1. Polymorphism allows objects of different classes to be treated as objects of a common superclass, enabling dynamic method dispatch and flexibility in handling different object types.
  2. It enables a single interface to represent various data types and supports method overloading and overriding.
  3. Polymorphism can be achieved through method overloading (compile-time polymorphism) and method overriding (runtime polymorphism).
  4. It is mainly applied to functions or methods.

In summary, inheritance is a static concept that establishes relationships between classes and promotes code reusability, while polymorphism is a dynamic concept that allows for flexibility in handling different object types and enables a single interface to represent various data types. Both concepts are essential in OOP, and their significance depends on the specific requirements of the software design.

Comparative Table: Polymorphism vs Inheritance in OOP

Here is a table highlighting the differences between polymorphism and inheritance in object-oriented programming:

Inheritance Polymorphism
Inheritance is a concept where a new class (derived class) is created that inherits features from an existing class (base class). Polymorphism allows a task to be performed in multiple forms or ways, and it is applied to functions or methods.
Inheritance is mainly applied to classes. Polymorphism is applied to functions or methods.
Inheritance supports the concept of code reusability and reduces the length of the code in object-oriented programming. Polymorphism allows the object to decide which form of the function to implement at compile-time.
Inheritance can be single, multi-level, multiple, hybrid, or hierarchical. Polymorphism has two types: compile-time polymorphism (method overloading) and run-time polymorphism (method overriding).

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