Java Method Overloading

Method Overloading in Java allows multiple methods in the same class to have the same name but different parameters.
It is a compile-time polymorphism technique.

1. Rules of Method Overloading

Methods must have the same name.
Methods must have different parameters:
- Different number of parameters, or
- Different type of parameters, or
- Both
Return type alone cannot distinguish overloaded methods.
Methods can have different access modifiers.

2. Example 1: Different Number of Parameters

public class Main {
static int add(int a, int b) {
return a + b;
}

static int add(int a, int b, int c) {
return a + b + c;
}

public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(add(5, 10)); // 15
System.out.println(add(5, 10, 15)); // 30
}
}

public class Main {

static int add(int a, int b) {

return a + b;

}

static int add(int a, int b, int c) {

return a + b + c;

}

public static void main(String[] args) {

System.out.println(add(5, 10)); // 15

System.out.println(add(5, 10, 15)); // 30

}

3. Example 2: Different Parameter Types

public class Main {
static int multiply(int a, int b) {
return a * b;
}

static double multiply(double a, double b) {
return a * b;
}

public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(multiply(5, 4)); // 20
System.out.println(multiply(3.5, 2.0)); // 7.0
}
}

public class Main {

static int multiply(int a, int b) {

return a * b;

}

static double multiply(double a, double b) {

return a * b;

}

public static void main(String[] args) {

System.out.println(multiply(5, 4)); // 20

System.out.println(multiply(3.5, 2.0)); // 7.0

}

4. Example 3: Mixed Parameters

public class Main {
static void greet(String name) {
System.out.println("Hello, " + name + "!");
}

static void greet(String name, int age) {
System.out.println("Hello, " + name + "! You are " + age + " years old.");
}

public static void main(String[] args) {
greet("Alice"); // Hello, Alice!
greet("Bob", 25); // Hello, Bob! You are 25 years old.
}
}

public class Main {

static void greet(String name) {

System.out.println("Hello, " + name + "!");

}

static void greet(String name, int age) {

System.out.println("Hello, " + name + "! You are " + age + " years old.");

}

public static void main(String[] args) {

greet("Alice"); // Hello, Alice!

greet("Bob", 25); // Hello, Bob! You are 25 years old.

}

5. Why Use Method Overloading?

Improves code readability.
Avoids writing multiple method names for similar tasks.
Enables flexible methods to handle different data types and arguments.

🧠 Key Points

Feature	Description
Method Name	Same for all overloaded methods
Parameters	Must differ in type, number, or both
Return Type	Can be different but cannot alone define overloading
Compile-Time Polymorphism	Overloading is resolved during compilation

Java Method Overloading