What are the advantages and disadvantages of polymorphi…

The polymorphism of C++ is achieved through inheritance and virtual functions, and its advantages and disadvantages are as follows:

Advantages:

1. Flexibility: Polymorphism allows the use of base class pointers or references to call methods of derived classes, providing greater flexibility and scalability.
2. Maintainability: Polymorphism makes code easier to maintain and modify, as adding a new subclass does not require modifying existing code, simply adding the new subclass will suffice.
3. Readability: Polymorphism can make code more concise and easier to read, as the specific implementations of derived classes only appear in the definition of the derived class, rather than scattered throughout the entire code.

Negative aspects

1. Performance degradation: Dynamic binding at runtime can result in a certain level of performance loss, as it requires looking up the virtual function table at runtime to determine the specific function being called.
2. Possible error: If accidentally overriding a base class’s virtual function in a derived class without adding the keyword “override”, unexpected behavior may occur.
3. Excessive use of polymorphism can complicate the design of code, making it difficult to understand and maintain. Therefore, it is important to use polymorphism appropriately in design.