What is the difference between 'Overriding' and 'Hiding/Method Shadowing'?

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Overriding replaces or specializes a virtual method implementation and participates in runtime polymorphism. Method hiding, or shadowing, defines a separate member with the same or related name in the derived class; the member selected can depend on the compile-time type of the reference. This distinction is important because hiding can produce surprising behavior when an object is accessed through a base-type reference. As a senior engineer, I prefer explicit overriding for polymorphic behavior and use hiding only when the semantics are intentional. class Parent {
 public virtual void show() {
 System.out.println('Parent');
 }
}

class Child extends Parent {
 @Override
 public void show() {
 System.out.println('Child override');
 }
}

Parent p = new Child();
p.show(); // Child override

// C# hiding example:
// class Child : Parent {
// public new void Show() { }
// } Overriding is runtime polymorphism. The actual object's implementation is selected for an overridden virtual method. Hiding creates a distinct member in the derived class. With hiding, the compile-time/reference type can affect which method is selected. Hiding can make APIs confusing, so it should be explicit and intentional. The exact mechanics differ between Java and C#.

What is the difference between 'Overriding' and 'Hiding/Method Shadowing'?

Overriding vs Method Hiding

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