How does polymorphism help in solving problems related to code extensibility and flexibility?

Polymorphism allows objects of different classes to use a common interface, which significantly increases the flexibility and extensibility of the code. Thanks to polymorphism, you can write functions and methods that work with a base type or interface without worrying about the specific implementation. This simplifies adding new classes and functionality without changing existing code.

For example, if you have a base class Animal with a method speak(), different subclasses (Dog, Cat) can implement this method in their own way. The code that calls speak() does not change when new animals are added.

class Animal:
    def speak(self):
        pass

class Dog(Animal):
    def speak(self):
        return "Woof"

class Cat(Animal):
    def speak(self):
        return "Meow"

animals = [Dog(), Cat()]
for animal in animals:
    print(animal.speak())

Thus, polymorphism promotes the creation of an extensible architecture where new types can be easily integrated without modifying existing code.