The word "polymorphism" means "many forms", and in programming it refers to

methods/functions/operators with the same name that can be executed on many objects
or classes.

Function Polymorphism

An example of a Python function that can be used on different objects is the len() function.

String

For strings len() returns the number of characters:

ExampleGet your own Python Server

x = "Hello World!"

print(len(x))

Tuple

For tuples len() returns the number of items in the tuple:

Example

mytuple = ("apple", "banana", "cherry")

print(len(mytuple))

Dictionary

For dictionaries len() returns the number of key/value pairs in the dictionary:

Example

thisdict = {
"brand": "Ford",
"model": "Mustang",
"year": 1964
}

print(len(thisdict))

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Class Polymorphism

Polymorphism is often used in Class methods, where we can have multiple classes with
the same method name.

For example, say we have three classes: Car, Boat, and Plane, and they all have a method
called move():

Example

Different classes with the same method:

class Car:
def __init__(self, brand, model):
self.brand = brand
self.model = model

def move(self):
print("Drive!")

class Boat:
def __init__(self, brand, model):
self.brand = brand
self.model = model

def move(self):
print("Sail!")

class Plane:
def __init__(self, brand, model):
self.brand = brand
self.model = model

def move(self):
print("Fly!")

car1 = Car("Ford", "Mustang") #Create a Car object

Look at the for loop at the end. Because of polymorphism we can execute the same
method for all three classes.

Inheritance Class Polymorphism

What about classes with child classes with the same name? Can we use polymorphism
there?

Yes. If we use the example above and make a parent class called Vehicle, and
make Car, Boat, Plane child classes of Vehicle, the child classes inherits
the Vehicle methods, but can override them:

Example

Create a class called Vehicle and make Car, Boat, Plane child classes of Vehicle:

class Vehicle:
def __init__(self, brand, model):
self.brand = brand
self.model = model

def move(self):
print("Move!")

class Car(Vehicle):
pass

class Boat(Vehicle):
def move(self):
print("Sail!")

class Plane(Vehicle):
def move(self):
print("Fly!")
car1 = Car("Ford", "Mustang") #Create a Car object
boat1 = Boat("Ibiza", "Touring 20") #Create a Boat object
plane1 = Plane("Boeing", "747") #Create a Plane object

for x in (car1, boat1, plane1):

Child classes inherits the properties and methods from the parent class.

In the example above you can see that the Car class is empty, but it inherits brand, model,
and move() from Vehicle.

The Boat and Plane classes also inherit brand, model, and move() from Vehicle, but they
both override the move() method.

Because of polymorphism we can execute the same method for all classes.

Python Inheritance

Inheritance allows us to define a class that inherits all the methods and properties from
another class.

Parent class is the class being inherited from, also called base class.

Child class is the class that inherits from another class, also called derived class.

Create a Parent Class

Any class can be a parent class, so the syntax is the same as creating any other class:

ExampleGet your own Python Server

Create a class named Person, with firstname and lastname properties, and
a printname method:

class Person:
def __init__(self, fname, lname):
self.firstname = fname
self.lastname = lname
def printname(self):
print(self.firstname, self.lastname)

#Use the Person class to create an object, and then execute the printname method:

x = Person("John", "Doe")
x.printname()

Create a Child Class

To create a class that inherits the functionality from another class, send the parent class as
a parameter when creating the child class:

Example

Create a class named Student, which will inherit the properties and methods from
the Person class:

class Student(Person):
pass

Note: Use the pass keyword when you do not want to add any other properties or methods
to the class.

Now the Student class has the same properties and methods as the Person class.

Example

Use the Student class to create an object, and then execute the printname method:

x = Student("Mike", "Olsen")
x.printname()

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Add the __init__() Function

So far we have created a child class that inherits the properties and methods from its
parent.

We want to add the __init__() function to the child class (instead of the pass keyword).
Note: The __init__() function is called automatically every time the class is being used to
create a new object.

Example

Add the __init__() function to the Student class:

class Student(Person):
def __init__(self, fname, lname):
#add properties etc.

When you add the __init__() function, the child class will no longer inherit the
parent's __init__() function.

Note: The child's __init__() function overrides the inheritance of the

To keep the inheritance of the parent's __init__() function, add a call to the
parent's __init__() function:

Example

class Student(Person):
def __init__(self, fname, lname):
Person.__init__(self, fname, lname)

Now we have successfully added the __init__() function, and kept the inheritance of the
parent class, and we are ready to add functionality in the __init__() function.

Use the super() Function

Python also has a super() function that will make the child class inherit all the methods and
properties from its parent:

Example

class Student(Person):
def __init__(self, fname, lname):
super().__init__(fname, lname)

By using the super() function, you do not have to use the name of the parent element, it will
automatically inherit the methods and properties from its parent.
Add Properties

Example

Add a property called graduationyear to the Student class:

class Student(Person):
def __init__(self, fname, lname):
super().__init__(fname, lname)
self.graduationyear = 2019

In the example below, the year 2019 should be a variable, and passed into
the Student class when creating student objects. To do so, add another parameter in
the __init__() function:

Example

Add a year parameter, and pass the correct year when creating objects:

class Student(Person):
def __init__(self, fname, lname, year):
super().__init__(fname, lname)
self.graduationyear = year

x = Student("Mike", "Olsen", 2019)

Add Methods

Example

Add a method called welcome to the Student class:

class Student(Person):
def __init__(self, fname, lname, year):
super().__init__(fname, lname)
self.graduationyear = year

def welcome(self):
print("Welcome", self.firstname, self.lastname, "to the class of", self.graduationyear)

If you add a method in the child class with the same name as a function in the parent class,
the inheritance of the parent method will be overridden.