Overloading Java Methods - Access 2 Learn

As was mentioned briefly in talking about Java Instance Methods, you can overload a Java method, just as you would overload a C++ function/method. (C doesn’t allow for overloading, only C++).

Since there is no method prototype, it is easy to just write your new method.

I like to group my overload methods together, so if I have a method called calcDistance(), with different types of parameters, I will group all of those together, so it’s easier to find in my source file. Java doesn’t require this, it is just good programming practice.

Like in C++, you cannot overload based upon a return type, only based upon the parameter list. You can have zero parameters for one method, or not, with multiple parameters and/or differing parameter data types in the other. Additionally, just like in C++, you have to make sure your data types are clear, and not ambiguous.

Below is an example of overloading a method:

public double calcDistance(Shape s1) {
  // calculate distance based upon the two shapes distance from one another
}
public double calcDistance(double x, double y) {
  // calculate the 2D distance based upon the x and y values passed to the method
}
public double calcDistance(double x, double y, double z) {
  // calculate the 3D distance based upon the x, y, and z values passed to the method
}

Notice how just like with C++, the method name is exactly the same, only the parameters have changed.

Overloading Java Methods was originally found on Access 2 Learn

Walter Wimberly

Assistant Professor

Walter Wimberly is an Assistant Professor at a regional college in Tennessee, teaching Computer Science in the Software Engineering track. He works as a student advisor, oversees curriculum changes, develops new courses, and manages the advisory panel.
Walter taught full time for about 7 years, before going back into “industry” as a full stack Software Developer for a dozen years. There he focused on web based projects coding in JavaScript/jQuery and utilizing the Bootstrap CSS Framework on the front-end, and coding in PHP, ASP/ASP.Net, SQL on the back-end.

Since he loves teaching, he taught as an adjunct web and digital media classes for eight (8) years, while working in industry, and has since returned to teaching full time.

He has been married for over 25 years, and is father to several special needs boys. As such, he is working on some projects to help others who have special needs to be self-sufficient, and support the care givers of those with special needs. Check out his Autism blog for more info.

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