What is Method Overloading in Java?

Methods are the helping hand of any object in Java. With the help of methods we can describe how an object will behave. Let us first look at methods in java.

Methods in Java

A method is basically a block of code which runs only when it is called. It is also known as functions, as they are used to perform certain specific action. A method can contain one or more parameters, with which you can pass some data into the method. Let us look at an example to understand methods in java.

Example

public class Hello { //Method created public static void newMethod() { System.out.println("Hello there!!"); } public static void main(String[] args) { newMethod(); //Method called } }

Output

Let us look at the output of the above example code.

Methods in java — Fig.1- Methods in Java

Here in this example code the method newMethod() is created which prints “Hello there!!” on the screen. In the main method the newMethod() created is called. Each method must be declared inside a class. To declare a method, define the name of the method followed by parenthesis. To call a method in java, type the name of the method followed by a parenthesis and a semicolon.
Note: System.out.println() is also a method. It is part of the pre-defined methods provided in Java.

Method Overloading in Java

Method overloading in Java is one of the unique features of OOPs. It allows different methods to have same name, but with different signatures. The signature can differ in number of input parameters, type of input parameters or both. Let us look at an example to understand method overloading in java.

Example

public class method_overloading { public static void main(String[] args) { method_overloading m = new method_overloading(); System.out.println(m.add(2, 3)); System.out.println(m.add(2.5, 3.2)); System.out.println(m.add(2, 3, 4)); } //Two parameters of int type public int add(int a, int b) { return a + b; } //Two parameters of double type public double add(double x, double y) { return x + y; } //Three parameters of int type public int add(int p, int q, int r) { return p + q + r; } }

Output

Let us look at the output of the above example code.

Method Overloading in java — Fig.2- Method Overloading

Let us go through the example line by line. In this class method_overloading, we have declared our main method first, in which we have called our add() methods with the help of an object m of the class method_overloading.
After defining the main method, we move on to the add() methods where we have two parameters in the first case, both the parameters being int type. Next we have the add() method with two parameter, but the parameters are of double type. Finally, there are three parameters of int type in the last case. Each method returns the sum of the parameters passed.
Note: Like any other method we can overload the main() method too in Java. Method overloading is an example of static or compile time polymorphism.

Summary

In this article, we have seen what a method means in Java along with how to create and call a method. We have walked through the concept of method overloading and how to implement it.
The redundancy of creating and remembering functions doing the same work is eliminated with the help of method overloading.

What is Method Overloading in Java?

Methods in Java

Example

Output

Method Overloading in Java

Example

Output

Summary

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Author : Satyam Kumar -

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