Overloading is a programming technique where multiple functions or operators share the same name but have different parameter lists or types. The compiler determines the appropriate function to call based on the number, types, or order of the arguments passed.

Function overloading enables you to write cleaner and more expressive code by allowing a single function name to handle various input types or scenarios. It is commonly used in languages like C++ and Java.

Operator overloading, a specific type of overloading, allows you to redefine the behavior of built-in operators for user-defined types, such as classes and structs. This makes your code more expressive and easier to read by using familiar syntax with custom types.

Here's a simple example of function overloading in C++:

int add(int a, int b) {
  return a + b;
}

double add(double a, double b) {
  return a + b;
}

int main() {
  int result1 = add(1, 2);
  double result2 = add(1.0, 2.0);
  return 0;
}