What is duck typing?

programming-languages duck-typing
sushil bharwani picture sushil bharwani · Nov 17, 2010 · Viewed 131.8k times · Source

I came across the term duck typing while reading random topics on software online and did not completely understand it.

What is “duck typing”?

Answer

Oded picture Oded · Nov 17, 2010

It is a term used in dynamic languages that do not have strong typing.

The idea is that you don't need a type in order to invoke an existing method on an object - if a method is defined on it, you can invoke it.

The name comes from the phrase "If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck".

Wikipedia has much more information.

Related questions

Strangest language feature

What is, in your opinion, the most surprising, weird, strange or really "WTF" language feature you have encountered? Please only one feature per answer.

Read More
What is the difference between statically typed and dynamically typed languages?

I hear a lot that new programming languages are dynamically typed but what does it actually mean when we say a language is dynamically typed vs. statically typed?

Read More
What languages are Windows, Mac OS X and Linux written in?

I was just wondering who knows what programming languages Windows, Mac OS X and Linux are made up from and what languages are used for each part of the OS (ie: Kernel, plug-in architecture, GUI components, etc). I assume that …

Read More