What advantages does dynamic dispatching in programming offer?

Dynamic dispatch is a mechanism where the method call is determined at runtime rather than at compile time. In iOS (and generally in object-oriented programming), this allows:

• Implementing polymorphism, where different classes can implement the same method differently.
• Providing flexibility and extensibility of code, allowing behavior of objects to be changed without modifying the calling code.
• Using protocols and delegates for dynamic selection of event handlers.

For example, if you have a base class Animal with a method makeSound(), and subclasses Dog and Cat override this method, then calling makeSound() on an object of type Animal will actually execute the version of the method corresponding to the actual type of the object:

class Animal {
    func makeSound() {
        print("Some sound")
    }
}

class Dog: Animal {
    override func makeSound() {
        print("Woof")
    }
}

let animal: Animal = Dog()
animal.makeSound() // Will output "Woof" thanks to dynamic dispatch

This enhances the ease of maintenance and extension of applications.