Overloading and overriding are two fundamental concepts in object-oriented programming, particularly in languages like Java.

Overloading refers to the ability to define multiple methods with the same name but different parameters within the same class. This allows a programmer to create methods that perform similar functions but with different input types or numbers of parameters. For example, a method named multiply could be overloaded to handle both integers and floating-point numbers. The key point is that the method signatures must differ in terms of parameter types or counts; simply changing the return type is not sufficient for overloading ⁵.

Overriding, on the other hand, occurs when a subclass provides a specific implementation of a method that is already defined in its superclass. This allows the subclass to modify or extend the behavior of the inherited method. For instance, if a superclass has a method printing, a subclass can override this method to change its functionality. This is useful for reusing code while tailoring it to meet specific needs ¹³.

In summary, overloading is about having multiple methods with the same name but different parameters, while overriding is about redefining a method from a superclass in a subclass.