[SalesForce] Overloading method return type in Apex

Does Apex support method return type overloading ?

I mean can I have a method in a class that return different type depending on it's Inputs ?

Best Answer

Yes, if the method signature is different you can have a different return type

In a class you can have

Integer add(Integer) 
String add(String)

But you can't have

Integer add(Integer)
String add(Integer)

A working example :

public class myClass {

  public Integer add(Integer num){
    return null;
  }

  public String add(String str){
    return null;
  }

}

Related Solutions

[SalesForce] Return different data type using only one method

You can set return type of the Apex method to Object.

public Object returnVariousDataType(String dataType){
    //write something
    if(dataType == 'String'){
        // return String
        return 'this is a string';
    } else if(dataType == 'Integer'){
        // return Integer
        return 0;
    } else {
        // return other types
        return Date.today();
    }
}

And cast the return value to what you want when you invoke it.

Integer int = (Integer)returnVariousDataType('Integer');

[SalesForce] Method return types clash? Does Apex support covariant return types

You can't alter the return type for overridden methods. Either return the parent type, which you can then cast to the child type, if it is a child, or simply return it as an Object (which is how various methods like JSON.deserialize works). In either case, you'll need to do casting at least some of the time.

Example:

public class B extends A {
    public override A construct() {
        return new B();
     }
}

Best Answer

Related Solutions

[SalesForce] Return different data type using only one method

[SalesForce] Method return types clash? Does Apex support covariant return types

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