Duck typing

Duck typing in computer programming is an application of the duck test—'If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck'—to determine if an object can be used for a particular purpose. With normal typing, suitability is determined by an object's type. In duck typing, an object's suitability is determined by the presence of certain methods and properties, rather than the type of the object itself. Duck typing in computer programming is an application of the duck test—'If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck'—to determine if an object can be used for a particular purpose. With normal typing, suitability is determined by an object's type. In duck typing, an object's suitability is determined by the presence of certain methods and properties, rather than the type of the object itself. This is a simple example in Python 3 that demonstrates how any object may be used in any context, up until it is used in a way that it does not support.