What is the difference between method overloading and overriding in Java?

Point	Overloading	Overriding
Where	Same class (or subclass)	Subclass and parent class
Parameters	Must be different	Must be the same
Return type	Can be different	Same (or a subtype)
Decided	At compile time	At run time
Also called	Compile time polymorphism	Run time polymorphism

class Animal {
    void sound() { System.out.println("..."); }
}

class Dog extends Animal {
    @Override
    void sound() { System.out.println("Woof"); }       // overriding
    void sound(int times) {                              // overloading
        for (int i = 0; i < times; i++) System.out.print("Woof ");
        System.out.println();
    }
}

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Animal a = new Dog();
        a.sound();
        new Dog().sound(2);
    }
}

See Overloading and Inheritance.

• Previous Interview Question
• Next Interview Question

---

Tutorials
No Content Found.

Exercises & Assignments
No Content Found.

Interview Questions & Answers
No Content Found.