C++ static virtual members?

Question

Is it possible in C++ to have a member function that is both static and virtual? Apparently, there isn't a straightforward way to do it (static virtual member(); is a compile error), but is there at least a way to achieve the same effect?

I.E:

struct Object
{
     struct TypeInformation;

     static virtual const TypeInformation &GetTypeInformation() const;
};

struct SomeObject : public Object
{
     static virtual const TypeInformation &GetTypeInformation() const;
};

It makes sense to use GetTypeInformation() both on an instance (object->GetTypeInformation()) and on a class (SomeObject::GetTypeInformation()), which can be useful for comparisons and vital for templates.

The only ways I can think of involves writing two functions / a function and a constant, per class, or use macros.

Any other solutions?

Answer 1

Many say it is not possible, I would go one step further and say it is not meaningfull.

A static member is something that does not relate to any instance, only to the class.

A virtual member is something that does not relate directly to any class, only to an instance.

So a static virtual member would be something that does not relate to any instance or any class.

Answer 2

No, this is not possible, because static member functions lack a this pointer. And static members (both functions and variables) are not really class members per-se. They just happen to be invoked by ClassName::member, and adhere to the class access specifiers. Their storage is defined somewhere outside the class; storage is not created each time you instantiated an object of the class. Pointers to class members are special in semantics and syntax. A pointer to a static member is a normal pointer in all regards.

virtual functions in a class needs the this pointer, and is very coupled to the class, hence they can't be static.

Answer 3

No, there's no way to do it, since what would happen when you called Object::GetTypeInformation()? It can't know which derived class version to call since there's no object associated with it.

You'll have to make it a non-static virtual function to work properly; if you also want to be able to call a specific derived class's version non-virtually without an object instance, you'll have to provide a second redunduant static non-virtual version as well.

Answer 4

No, its not possible, since static members are bound at compile time, while virtual members are bound at runtime.

Answer 5

I ran into this problem the other day: I had some classes full of static methods but I wanted to use inheritance and virtual methods and reduce code repetition. My solution was:

Instead of using static methods, use a singleton with virtual methods.

In other words, each class should contain a static method that you call to get a pointer to a single, shared instance of the class. You can make the true constructors private or protected so that outside code can't misuse it by creating additional instances.

In practice, using a singleton is a lot like using static methods except that you can take advantage of inheritance and virtual methods.

Answer 6

It is possible. Make two functions: static and virtual

struct Object{     
  struct TypeInformation;
  static  const TypeInformation &GetTypeInformationStatic() const 
  { 
      return GetTypeInformationMain1();
  }
  virtual const TypeInformation &GetTypeInformation() const
  { 
      return GetTypeInformationMain1();
  }
protected:
  static const TypeInformation &GetTypeInformationMain1(); // Main function
};

struct SomeObject : public Object {     
  static  const TypeInformation &GetTypeInformationStatic() const 
  { 
      return GetTypeInformationMain2();
  }
  virtual const TypeInformation &GetTypeInformation() const
  { 
      return GetTypeInformationMain2();
  }
protected:
  static const TypeInformation &GetTypeInformationMain2(); // Main function
};