Virtual Constructors and Destructors in C++

It is legal and common to pass a pointer to a derived object when a pointer to a base object is expected. What happens when that pointer t...


It is legal and common to pass a pointer to a derived object when a pointer to a base object is expected. What happens when that pointer to a derived subject is deleted? If the destructor is virtual, as it should be, the right thing happens--the derived class's destructor is called. Because the derived class's destructor will automatically invoke the base class's destructor, the entire object will be properly destroyed.

The rule of thumb is this: If any of the functions in your class are virtual, the destructor should be as well.

Virtual Copy Constructors

As previously stated, no constructor can be virtual. Nonetheless, there are times when your program desperately needs to be able to pass in a pointer to a base object and have a copy of the correct derived object that is created. A common solution to this problem is to create a Clone() method in the base class and to make that be virtual. The Clone() method creates a new object copy of the current class, and returns that object.

Because each derived class overrides the Clone() method, a copy of the derived class is created. Listing 12.11 illustrates how this is used.

Listing 12.11. Virtual copy constructor.

1: //Listing 12.11 Virtual copy constructor
2:
3: #include <iostream.h>
4:
5: class Mammal
6: {
7: public:
8: Mammal():itsAge(1) { cout << "Mammal constructor...\n"; }
9: ~Mammal() { cout << "Mammal destructor...\n"; }
10: Mammal (const Mammal & rhs);
11: virtual void Speak() const { cout << "Mammal speak!\n"; }
12: virtual Mammal* Clone() { return new Mammal(*this); }
13: int GetAge()const { return itsAge; }
14: protected:
15: int itsAge;
16: };
17:
18: Mammal::Mammal (const Mammal & rhs):itsAge(rhs.GetAge())
19: {
20: cout << "Mammal Copy Constructor...\n";
21: }
22:
23: class Dog : public Mammal
24: {
25: public:
26: Dog() { cout << "Dog constructor...\n"; }
27: ~Dog() { cout << "Dog destructor...\n"; }
28: Dog (const Dog & rhs);
29: void Speak()const { cout << "Woof!\n"; }
30: virtual Mammal* Clone() { return new Dog(*this); }
31: };
32:
33: Dog::Dog(const Dog & rhs):
34: Mammal(rhs)
35: {
36: cout << "Dog copy constructor...\n";
37: }
38:
39: class Cat : public Mammal
40: {
41: public:
42: Cat() { cout << "Cat constructor...\n"; }
43: ~Cat() { cout << "Cat destructor...\n"; }
44: Cat (const Cat &);
45: void Speak()const { cout << "Meow!\n"; }
46: virtual Mammal* Clone() { return new Cat(*this); }
47: };
48:
49: Cat::Cat(const Cat & rhs):
50: Mammal(rhs)
51: {
52: cout << "Cat copy constructor...\n";
53: }
54:
55: enum ANIMALS { MAMMAL, DOG, CAT};
56: const int NumAnimalTypes = 3;
57: int main()
58: {
59: Mammal *theArray[NumAnimalTypes];
60: Mammal* ptr;
61: int choice, i;
62: for ( i = 0; i<NumAnimalTypes; i++)
63: {
64: cout << "(1)dog (2)cat (3)Mammal: ";
65: cin >> choice;
66: switch (choice)
67: {
68: case DOG: ptr = new Dog;
69: break;
70: case CAT: ptr = new Cat;
71: break;
72: default: ptr = new Mammal;
73: break;
74: }
75: theArray[i] = ptr;
76: }
77: Mammal *OtherArray[NumAnimalTypes];
78: for (i=0;i<NumAnimalTypes;i++)
79: {
80: theArray[i]->Speak();
81: OtherArray[i] = theArray[i]->Clone();
82: }
83: for (i=0;i<NumAnimalTypes;i++)
84: OtherArray[i]->Speak();
25: return 0;
86: }


1: (1)dog (2)cat (3)Mammal: 1
2: Mammal constructor...
3: Dog constructor...
4: (1)dog (2)cat (3)Mammal: 2
5: Mammal constructor...
6: Cat constructor...
7: (1)dog (2)cat (3)Mammal: 3
8: Mammal constructor...
9: Woof!
10: Mammal Copy Constructor...
11: Dog copy constructor...
12: Meow!
13: Mammal Copy Constructor...
14: Cat copy constructor...
15: Mammal speak!
16: Mammal Copy Constructor...
17: Woof!
18: Meow!
19: Mammal speak!

Analysis: Listing 12.11 is very similar to the previous two listings, except that a new virtual method has been added to the Mammal class: Clone(). This method returns a pointer to a new Mammal object by calling the copy constructor, passing in itself (*this) as a const reference.

Dog and Cat both override the Clone() method, initializing their data and passing in copies of themselves to their own copy constructors. Because Clone() is virtual, this will effectively create a virtual copy constructor, as shown on line 81.

The user is prompted to choose dogs, cats, or mammals, and these are created on lines 62-74. A pointer to each choice is stored in an array on line 75.

As the program iterates over the array, each object has its Speak() and its Clone() methods called, in turn, on lines 80 and 81. The result of the Clone() call is a pointer to a copy of the object, which is then stored in a second array on line 81.

On line 1 of the output, the user is prompted and responds with 1, choosing to create a dog. The Mammal and Dog constructors are invoked. This is repeated for Cat and for Mammal on lines 4-8 of the constructor.

Line 9 of the constructor represents the call to Speak() on the first object, the Dog. The virtual Speak() method is called, and the correct version of Speak() is invoked. The Clone() function is then called, and as this is also virtual, Dog's Clone() method is invoked, causing the Mammal constructor and the Dog copy constructor to be called.

The same is repeated for Cat on lines 12-14, and then for Mammal on lines 15 and 16. Finally, the new array is iterated, and each of the new objects has Speak() invoked.
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