Virtual Functions[]
Virtual Functions are methods that can be overridden in a subclass. That means you can provide a specialized implementation of the method in a subclass, and that implementation will be used. Consider this example:
class A { public: virtual int virtual_func() { //Do something } } class B : public class A { public: virtual int virtual_func() { //Do something different } }
In code somewhere else:
A* foo = new A; // make "foo" point to a new A object foo->virtual_func(); // this calls A's "virtual_func" A* bar = new B; // make "bar" point to a new B object; "bar" is declared as an A pointer // B is a subclass of A; so we can use it as an A bar->virtual_func(); // this calls B's "virtual_func", even though "bar" is of type "pointer to A" // this works because B has overridden A's virtual function of the same name