Overloading and Overriding

• When a child class re-writes a method that belongs to the parent class, it is called overriding the method.

• This is different than overloading:

  Overloading a method	Same name in the same class, different signature. "Different" is either the number or classes of the arguments. The correct one is called based on matching the arguments in the call to the expected parameters of the method.
  Overriding a method	Same signature coded in the child as the one coded in the parent. The correct one is called automatically.

  
  Question: Is writing mutiple constructors overloading or overriding?
  Question: Is toString() overloading or overriding?
  Question: Can overiding be done with parent/child classes?
  Question: Can overiding be done without a parent/child relationship?
  Question: Can overloading be done with parent/child classes?
  Question: Can constructors be overridden?

• You should only re-write the methods that need to be updated.

• Sometimes you may completely replace the method in the parent class, but sometimes you may want to augment the behavior.

• The @Override annotation tells the compiler that you mean to override an inherited method. If it does not exists about your class in the hierarchy, you will get a compilation error (remember, "The Compiler is your friend!").

• If the the child's version needs to call the parent's version, use the keyword super in dot-notation:

  For instance:

  @Override
  public String toString()
  {
      return(super.toString() + " the child's instance variables");
  }