C++ puzzles and FAQ

Explain the difference between templates in C++ and generics in Java.
Differences between C++ Classes and Structs
return statement vs exit() in main()
static_cast, const_cast, dynamic_cast, reinterpret_cast and C casts
How to implement dynamic_cast?

Explain the difference between templates in C++ and generics in Java.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Java_and_C++#Templates_vs._Generics

Differences between C++ Classes and Structs

members and inheritance

that members of a class are private by default, whereas members of a struct are public by default. Inheritance between classes is also private by default, and inheritance between structs is public by default.

a struct inheriting from a class and a class inheriting from a struct

class A
{
   public:
      int a;
};

struct B : A { };

struct C
{
      int c;
};

class D : C { };

int main()
{
   B b;
   D d;
   b.a = 1;
   d.c = 2;
}

Although a recent version of the GNU project C++ compiler treats the assignment of 2 into d.c in the above example as a compile-time error, a programmer who is more interested in standards compliance should refer to the C++ standard. After all, compilers do not determine standard behavior; standards prescribe standard behavior for compilers. The GNU project C++ compiler is consistent with 11.2.2 of ISO/IEC 14882-2003, which states that the kind of inheritance is determined by the derived class being declared as a class or struct when an access specificer for the base class is absent.

Inheritance differences?¹

a struct is implicitly sealed, a class isn't.
a struct can't be abstract, a class can.
a struct can't call : base() in its constructor whereas a class with no explicit base class can.
a struct can't extend another class, a class can.
a struct can't declare protected members (eg fields, nested types) a class can.
a struct can't declare abstract function members, an abstract class can.
a struct can't declare virtual function members, a class can.
a struct can't declare sealed function members, a class can.
a struct can't declare override function members, a class can. The one exception to this rule is that a struct can override the virtual methods of System.Object, viz, Equals(), and GetHashCode(), and ToString().

return statement vs exit() in main()

When exit(0) is used to exit from program, destructors for locally scoped non-static objects are not called. But destructors are called if return 0 is used. Note that static objects will be cleaned up even if we call exit().

#include<iostream>
#include<stdio.h>
#include<stdlib.h>

using namespace std;

class Test {
public:
  Test() {
    printf("Inside Test's Constructor\n");
  }

  ~Test(){
    printf("Inside Test's Destructor");
    getchar();
  }
};

int main() {
  Test t1;

  // using exit(0) to exit from main
  exit(0);
}
Output:
Inside Test’s Constructor

#include<iostream>
#include<stdio.h>
#include<stdlib.h>

using namespace std;

class Test {
public:
  Test() {
    printf("Inside Test's Constructor\n");
  }

  ~Test(){
    printf("Inside Test's Destructor");
  }
};

int main() {
  Test t1;

   // using return 0 to exit from main
  return 0;
}
Output:
Inside Test’s Constructor
Inside Test’s Destructor

#include<iostream>
#include<stdio.h>
#include<stdlib.h>

using namespace std;

class Test {
public:
  Test() {
    printf("Inside Test's Constructor\n");
  }

  ~Test(){
    printf("Inside Test's Destructor");
    getchar();
  }
};

int main() {
  static Test t1;  // Note that t1 is static

  exit(0);
}
Output:
Inside Test’s Constructor
Inside Test’s Destructor

`static_cast`, `const_cast`, `dynamic_cast`, `reinterpret_cast` and `C casts`

More: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/332030/when-should-static-cast-dynamic-cast-and-reinterpret-cast-be-used

`static_cast`

static_cast is the first cast you should attempt to use. It does things like implicit conversions between types (such as int to float, or pointer to void*), and it can also call explicit conversion functions (or implicit ones). In many cases, explicitly stating static_cast isn't necessary, but it's important to note that the T(something) syntax is equivalent to (T)something and should be avoided.

static_cast can also cast through inheritance hierarchies. It is unnecessary when casting upwards (towards a base class), but when casting downwards it can be used as long as it doesn't cast through virtual inheritance. It does not do checking, however, and it is undefined behavior to static_cast down a hierarchy to a type that isn't actually the type of the object.（并不推荐使用于多态对象）。

`const_cast`

const_cast can be used to remove or add const to a variable; no other C++ cast is capable of removing it (not even reinterpret_cast). This can be useful when overloading member functions based on const, for instance. It can also be used to add const to an object, such as to call a member function overload.

const_cast also works similarly on volatile, though that's less common.

`dynamic_cast`

主要处理多态。 dynamic_cast is almost exclusively used for handling polymorphism. You can cast a pointer or reference to any polymorphic type to any other class type (a polymorphic type has at least one virtual function, declared or inherited). You can use it for more than just casting downwards – you can cast sideways or even up another chain. The dynamic_cast will seek out the desired object and return it if possible.（会检查）If it can't, it will return NULL in the case of a pointer, or throw std::bad_cast in the case of a reference.

dynamic_cast has some limitations, though. It doesn't work if there are multiple objects of the same type in the inheritance hierarchy (the so-called 'dreaded diamond') and you aren't using virtual inheritance. It also can only go through public inheritance - it will always fail to travel through protected or private inheritance. This is rarely an issue, however, as such forms of inheritance are rare.

`reinterpret_cast`

主要处理底层bit的重新释义。 reinterpret_cast is the most dangerous cast, and should be used very sparingly. It turns one type directly into another - such as casting the value from one pointer to another, or storing a pointer in an int, or all sorts of other nasty things. Largely, the only guarantee you get with reinterpret_cast is that normally if you cast the result back to the original type, you will get the exact same value (but not if the intermediate type is smaller than the original type).

There are a number of conversions that reinterpret_cast cannot do, too. It's used primarily for particularly weird conversions and bit manipulations, like turning a raw data stream into actual data, or storing data in the low bits of an aligned pointer.

`C casts`

进行如下的顺序的cast，会隐式用 reinterpret_cast ，比较危险。

C casts are casts using (type)object or type(object). A C-style cast is defined as the first of the following which succeeds:

const_cast
static_cast
static_cast, then const_cast
reinterpret_cast
reinterpret_cast, then const_cast

It can therefore be used as a replacement for other casts in some instances, but can be extremely dangerous because of the ability to devolve into a reinterpret_cast, and the latter should be preferred when explicit casting is needed, unless you are sure static_cast will succeed or reinterpret_cast will fail. Even then, consider the longer, more explicit option.

C-style casts also ignore access control when performing a static_cast, which means that they have the ability to perform an operation that no other cast can. This is mostly a kludge, though, and in my mind is just another reason to avoid C-style casts.