How do you prevent a method from being overridden?

The first step is to select a programming language that allows methods to be overridden, and supports a feature to prevent it. For this example, we will use Java, which is an object-oriented programming language and supports method overriding and the 'final' keyword to prevent it.

Method overriding is an object-oriented programming concept that allows a subclass to provide a specific implementation of a method declared in its superclass. This enables a child class to inherit the methods and fields of its parent class and still modify or extend the functionality of inherited methods. In Java, method overriding is achieved by defining a method in the child class with the same method signature (method name and parameters) as that of the method in its parent class. When an overridden method is called from the child class object, the child class's version of the method will be executed.

To prevent a method from being overridden in Java, the 'final' keyword can be used. By adding the 'final' keyword before the method declaration, it indicates that the method cannot be overridden in any subclass that extends the class containing this method. For example, consider a superclass called 'Animal' with a method 'makeSound()'. To prevent this method from being overridden in any subclass of Animal, declare the method as follows: ```java class Animal { final void makeSound() { System.out.println("The Animal makes a sound."); } } ``` Now, if a subclass called 'Dog' tries to override the 'makeSound()' method, it will cause a compile-time error, as the method has been marked 'final' in its parent class: ```java class Dog extends Animal { @Override void makeSound() { // This will cause a compile-time error. System.out.println("The Dog barks."); } } ``` In conclusion, to prevent a method from being overridden, the 'final' keyword must be added before the method declaration in the parent class. This ensures that no subclass can modify or extend the functionality of that specific method.