237 lines
6.2 KiB
Markdown
237 lines
6.2 KiB
Markdown
# Lecture 26 --- C++ Inheritance and Polymorphism
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## 26.1 Multiple Inheritance
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- Multiple inheritance allows a class to inherit from more than one base class.
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- See [example 1](multiple_inheritance1.cpp) and [example 2](multiple_inheritance2.cpp).
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Note:
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## 26.2 The Diamond Problem
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- The Diamond Problem occurs in multiple inheritance when two classes inherit from the same base class, and a fourth class inherits from both of those.
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Human
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/ \
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Student Worker
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\ /
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CSStudent
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- Both Student and Worker inherit from Human.
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```cpp
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class Human {
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public:
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void speak();
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};
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class Student : public Human {};
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class Worker : public Human {};
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class CSStudent : public Student, public Worker {};
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```
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- CSStudent inherits from both Student and Worker.
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- Compiler sees two Human base classes.
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- This leads to duplicate data and ambiguous member resolution.
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```cpp
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CSStudent cs;
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cs.speak(); // ❌ Ambiguous: which Human::speak()?
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```
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### Solution: Virtual Inheritance
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- Use the virtual keyword when inheriting the common base class.
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```cpp
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class Student : virtual public Human {};
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class Worker : virtual public Human {};
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class CSStudent : public Student, public Worker {};
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CSStudent cs;
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cs.speak(); // ✅ No ambiguity
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```
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- How it works:
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- Compiler ensures only one shared instance of Human.
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- Student and Worker do not create their own copies of Human.
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- Memory layout uses pointers behind the scenes to share the base.
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### Constructor Order with Virtual Inheritance
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When virtual inheritance is involved:
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Most derived class (e.g., CSStudent) is responsible for calling the base (Human) constructor.
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```cpp
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class Human {
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public:
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Human(int age) {}
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};
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class Student : virtual public Human {
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public:
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Student() : Human(0) {} // ❌ Not allowed to call Human(int) here
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};
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class CSStudent : public Student {
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public:
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CSStudent() : Human(21), Student() {} // ✅ Human constructor called here
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};
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```
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## 26.2 Introduction to Polymorphism
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- Let’s consider a small class hierarchy version of polygonal objects:
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```cpp
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class Polygon {
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public:
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Polygon() {}
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virtual ~Polygon() {}
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int NumVerts() { return verts.size(); }
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virtual double Area() = 0;
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virtual bool IsSquare() { return false; }
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protected:
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vector<Point> verts;
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};
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class Triangle : public Polygon {
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public:
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Triangle(Point pts[3]) {
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for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) verts.push_back(pts[i]); }
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double Area();
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};
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class Quadrilateral : public Polygon {
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public:
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Quadrilateral(Point pts[4]) {
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for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) verts.push_back(pts[i]); }
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double Area();
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double LongerDiagonal();
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bool IsSquare() { return (SidesEqual() && AnglesEqual()); }
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private:
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bool SidesEqual();
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bool AnglesEqual();
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};
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```
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- Functions that are common, at least have a common interface, are in Polygon.
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- Some of these functions are marked virtual, which means that when they are redefined by a derived class, this new definition will be used, even for pointers to base class objects.
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- Some of these virtual functions, those whose declarations are followed by = 0 are pure virtual, which means
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they must be redefined in a derived class.
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– Any class that has pure virtual functions is called “abstract”.
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– Objects of abstract types may not be created — only pointers to these objects may be created.
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- Functions that are specific to a particular object type are declared in the derived class prototype.
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## 26.3 A Polymorphic List of Polygon Objects
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- Now instead of two separate lists of polygon objects, we can create one “polymorphic” list:
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```cpp
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std::list<Polygon*> polygons;
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```
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- Objects are constructed using new and inserted into the list:
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```cpp
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Polygon *p_ptr = new Triangle( .... );
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polygons.push_back(p_ptr);
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p_ptr = new Quadrilateral( ... );
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polygons.push_back(p_ptr);
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Triangle *t_ptr = new Triangle( .... );
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polygons.push_back(t_ptr);
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```
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Note: We’ve used the same pointer variable (p_ptr) to point to objects of two different types.
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## 26.4 Accessing Objects Through a Polymorphic List of Pointers
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- Let’s sum the areas of all the polygons:
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```cpp
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double area = 0;
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for (std::list<Polygon*>::iterator i = polygons.begin(); i!=polygons.end(); ++i){
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area += (*i)->Area();
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}
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```
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Which Area function is called? If *i points to a Triangle object then the function defined in the Triangle
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class would be called. If *i points to a Quadrilateral object then Quadrilateral::Area will be called.
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- Here’s code to count the number of squares in the list:
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```cpp
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int count = 0;
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for (std::list<Polygon*>::iterator i = polygons.begin(); i!=polygons.end(); ++i){
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count += (*i)->IsSquare();
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}
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```
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If Polygon::IsSquare had not been declared virtual then the function defined in Polygon would always be
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called! In general, given a pointer to type T we start at T and look “up” the hierarchy for the closest function
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definition (this can be done at compile time). If that function has been declared virtual, we will start this
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search instead at the actual type of the object (this requires additional work at runtime) in case it has been
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redefined in a derived class of type T.
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- To use a function in Quadrilateral that is not declared in Polygon, you must “cast” the pointer. The pointer
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*q will be NULL if *i is not a Quadrilateral object.
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```cpp
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for (std::list<Polygon*>::iterator i = polygons.begin(); i!=polygons.end(); ++i) {
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Quadrilateral *q = dynamic_cast<Quadrilateral*> (*i);
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if (q) std::cout << "diagonal: " << q->LongerDiagonal() << std::endl;
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}
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```
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## 26.5 Exercise
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What is the output of the following [program](exercise.cpp)?
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```cpp
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#include <iostream>
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class Base {
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public:
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Base() {}
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virtual void A() { std::cout << "Base A "; }
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void B() { std::cout << "Base B "; }
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};
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class One : public Base {
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public:
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One() {}
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void A() { std::cout << "One A "; }
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void B() { std::cout << "One B "; }
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};
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class Two : public Base {
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public:
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Two() {}
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void A() { std::cout << "Two A "; }
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void B() { std::cout << "Two B "; }
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};
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int main() {
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Base* a[3];
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a[0] = new Base;
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a[1] = new One;
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a[2] = new Two;
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for (unsigned int i=0; i<3; ++i) {
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a[i]->A();
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a[i]->B();
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}
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std::cout << std::endl;
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return 0;
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}
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```
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## 26.6 Exercise
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What is the output of the following [program](virtual.cpp)?
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