Python Polymorphism: Code Example & Explanation

Polymorphism in Python is the ability of an object to take on many forms. It's a concept that allows us to use a single interface to represent different types of objects. Here's a code sample demonstrating polymorphism in Python:

# Parent class
class Animal:

    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name

    def speak(self):
        raise NotImplementedError('Subclass must implement abstract method')

# Child classes
class Dog(Animal):

    def speak(self):
        return self.name + ' barks'

class Cat(Animal):

    def speak(self):
        return self.name + ' meows'

class Cow(Animal):

    def speak(self):
        return self.name + ' moos'

# Instantiate objects
dog = Dog('Buddy')
cat = Cat('Whiskers')
cow = Cow('Bessie')

# Call speak method on each object
print(dog.speak())
print(cat.speak())
print(cow.speak())

In this code, we have a parent class called 'Animal' and three child classes: 'Dog', 'Cat', and 'Cow'. Each child class has its own implementation of the 'speak' method, which returns a string representing the animal's sound.

We then create objects from each child class and call the 'speak' method on them. Since each object is from a different class, calling 'speak' results in different output strings. This showcases polymorphism, where a single interface (the 'speak' method) can be used to represent various object types ('Dog', 'Cat', and 'Cow').