[oop] What is polymorphism, what is it for, and how is it used?

Let's use an analogy. For a given musical script every musician which plays it gives her own touch in the interpretation.

Musician can be abstracted with interfaces, genre to which musician belongs can be an abstrac class which defines some global rules of interpretation and every musician who plays can be modeled with a concrete class.

If you are a listener of the musical work, you have a reference to the script e.g. Bach's 'Fuga and Tocata' and every musician who performs it does it polymorphicaly in her own way.

This is just an example of a possible design (in Java):

public interface Musician {
  public void play(Work work);
}

public interface Work {
  public String getScript();
}

public class FugaAndToccata implements Work {
  public String getScript() {
    return Bach.getFugaAndToccataScript();
  }
}

public class AnnHalloway implements Musician {
  public void play(Work work) {
    // plays in her own style, strict, disciplined
    String script = work.getScript()
  }
}

public class VictorBorga implements Musician {
  public void play(Work work) {
    // goofing while playing with superb style
    String script = work.getScript()
  }
}

public class Listener {
  public void main(String[] args) {
    Musician musician;
    if (args!=null && args.length > 0 && args[0].equals("C")) {
      musician = new AnnHalloway();
    } else {
      musician = new TerryGilliam();
    }
    musician.play(new FugaAndToccata());
}

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