How to implement polymorphism in Kotlin

Polymorphism is the ability of an object to take many forms, depending on the situation. Kotlin supports two types of polymorphism: compile-time polymorphism and run-time polymorphism. In this recipe, we will try both. Let's get started.

Getting ready

You need to install a preferred development environment that compiles and runs Kotlin. You can also use the command line for the purpose, for which you need a Kotlin compiler installed along with JDK. I am using IntelliJ IDE to compile and run my Kotlin code for this recipe.

How to do it…

In the following steps, we will learn how to use polymorphism in Kotlin:

1. Let's start with compile-time polymorphism. In compile-time polymorphism, the name functions, that is, the signature remains the same but parameters or return type is different. At compile time, the compiler then resolves which functions we are trying to call based on the type of parameters and more. Check out this example:

fun main(args: Array<String...