What is the difference between polymorphism and Generalization . I saw that they look similar in UML. Are they same ?
Let's look into the Oxford dictionary:
generalization | ˌjen(ə)rələˈzāSH(ə)n |
noun
a general statement or concept obtained by inference from specific cases: he was making sweeping generalizations.
• the action of generalizing: such anecdotes cannot be a basis for generalization.
UML has a graphical representation for that which is a solod line with an open triangle towards the general class.
polymorphism | ˌpälēˈmôrfizəm |
noun
the condition of occurring in several different forms: the complexity and polymorphism of human cognition.
[...]
• Computing a feature of a programming language that allows routines to use variables of different types at different times.
That's a certain use of generalization. If you have, say, an abstract class Animal which has an operation sound() and you have different specializations (the opposite of generalization) of that class (e.g. a concrete class Cat and Dog) then you can treat the polymorph Animal by calling sound(). In case you have a Cat it would meow and for a Dog it would bark.