[cbhl]

> explains that leaving out overloading is "simpler", meaning _simpler for them_.

This also means your program code is simpler, and therefore, faster.

Function overloading usually means virtual method tables, and therefore indirect method calls. Depending on how deep your inheritance / overloading structure is, these vtables can get really messy.

(I had a class in university where we were given a C++ UML class diagram, and told to draw the vtables that resulted when one instance of a subclass was instantiated.)

[n1ghtm4n]

Function overloading can be accomplished by name mangling at compile time.

  PROGRAMMER SEES        INTERNAL REPRESENTATION
  foo(int a, char b)     foo_int_char
  foo(int x)             foo_int

[lysium]

He did not mean overriding (methods in derived classes), but overloading (functions with the same name). You can resolve the latter at compile time, no indirection needed. For example you can have two overloaded functions println() and println(String).