Arizona State University (ASU) CSE240 Introduction to Programming Languages Midterm Practice Exam

In Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), when a method is overridden, the functionality of that method is primarily determined by the specific implementation provided by the derived class. Overriding allows a subclass to provide its own version of a method that is already defined in its superclass.

This process enables polymorphism, where a reference of the base class type can invoke the overridden method in the derived class, executing the derived class's version of that method. The particular implementation in the derived class is what modifies or extends the behavior initially defined in the base class, thus allowing for more specialized behavior while still maintaining the overall polymorphic nature of classes in OOP.

The original characteristics of the method, such as its name and parameters, must remain consistent to ensure that the method can be invoked in the same way. However, it is the derived class's specific implementation that truly defines how that method behaves in the context of the derived class. This point highlights the flexibility and power of inheritance in OOP, allowing developers to extend and tailor existing implementations.