parametric polymorphism
nounA way to write one piece of code that works with many different types of things.
Using parametric polymorphism, the same sorting function can sort numbers, words, or any other type.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. In type theory, a form of polymorphism where functions and data types are written generically so they work uniformly across all types.
System F is a classic formal model of parametric polymorphism.
3. A programming technique where a single function definition is reused with different concrete types without rewriting it.
The identity function is the simplest example of parametric polymorphism.
4. The property of a language feature, such as Java generics or Haskell type variables, that lets code abstract over types.
Java's generic collections rely on parametric polymorphism.