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12.2 Override

The document discusses polymorphism through overriding and function hiding in C++. It explains that overriding occurs when a base class declares a virtual function and a derived class defines its own implementation of that function with the same signature. Function hiding is similar but occurs when the base class function is not virtual, so the derived class version hides rather than overrides it. It provides examples of a base Animal class with a pure virtual Talk function, and derived Cat and Dog classes that override it. A Cat and Lion example demonstrates function hiding when the base class Talk is non-virtual.

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Divyanshu Rawat
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85 views2 pages

12.2 Override

The document discusses polymorphism through overriding and function hiding in C++. It explains that overriding occurs when a base class declares a virtual function and a derived class defines its own implementation of that function with the same signature. Function hiding is similar but occurs when the base class function is not virtual, so the derived class version hides rather than overrides it. It provides examples of a base Animal class with a pure virtual Talk function, and derived Cat and Dog classes that override it. A Cat and Lion example demonstrates function hiding when the base class Talk is non-virtual.

Uploaded by

Divyanshu Rawat
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Polymorphism: Overriding

classroom.udacity.com/nanodegrees/nd213/parts/f9fffe8e-1984-4045-92b6-
64854de4df2b/modules/70db33ed-8e7e-45e9-ab1d-3d0b257fc196/lessons/15cd39a7-3fda-495d-af24-
c5ccd45826a8/concepts/c8984e2f-241d-492f-8a81-31bee196143c

Watch Video At: https://youtu.be/u15HcpiBeRc

"Overriding" a function occurs when:

1. A base class declares a virtual function.


2. A derived class overrides that virtual function by defining its own implementation
with an identical function signature (i.e. the same function name and argument
types).

class Animal {
public:
virtual std::string Talk() const = 0;
};

class Cat {
public:
std::string Talk() const { return std::string("Meow"); }
};

In this example, Animal exposes a virtual function: Talk() , but does not define it.
Because Animal::Talk() is undefined, it is called a pure virtual function, as opposed to an
ordinary (impure? ) virtual function.

Furthermore, because Animal contains a pure virtual function, the user cannot
instantiate an object of type Animal . This makes Animal an abstract class.
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Cat , however, inherits from Animal and overrides Animal::Talk() with Cat::Talk() ,
which is defined. Therefore, it is possible to instantiate an object of type Cat .

Instructions
1. Create a class Dog to inherit from Animal .
2. Define Dog::Talk() to override the virtual function Animal::Talk() .
3. Confirm that the tests pass.

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Function Hiding
Function hiding is closely related, but distinct from, overriding.

A derived class hides a base class function, as opposed to overriding it, if the base class
function is not specified to be virtual .

class Cat {
public:
std::string Talk() const { return std::string("Meow"); }
};

class Lion : public Cat {


public:
std::string Talk() const { return std::string("Roar"); }
};

In this example, Cat is the base class and Lion is the derived class. Both Cat and
Lion have Talk() member functions.

When an object of type Lion calls Talk() , the object will run Lion::Talk() , not
Cat::Talk() .

In this situation, Lion::Talk() is hiding Cat::Talk() . If Cat::Talk() were virtual , then


Lion::Talk() would override Cat::Talk() , instead of hiding it. Overriding requires a virtual
function in the base class.

The distinction between overriding and hiding is subtle and not terribly significant, but in
certain situations hiding can lead to bizarre errors, particularly when the two functions
have slightly different function signatures.

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