Chapter 14. The Polymorphic Power of Templates

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Polymorphism is the ability to associate different specific behaviors with a single generic notation. ^[1] Polymorphism is also a cornerstone of the object-oriented programming paradigm, which in C++ is supported mainly through class inheritance and virtual functions. Because these mechanism are (at least in part) handled at run time, we talk about dynamic polymorphism . This is usually what is thought of when talking about plain polymorphism in C++. However, templates also allow us to associate different specific behaviors with a single generic notation, but this association is generally handled at compile time, which we refer to as static polymorphism . In this chapter we review the two forms of polymorphism and discuss which form is appropriate in which situations.

^[1] Polymorphism literally refers to the condition of having many forms or shapes (from the Greek polumorphos ).

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