Can a C++ class member function template be virtua

Question

I have heard that C++ class member function templates can't be virtual. Is this true?

If they can be virtual, what is an example of a scenario in which one would use such a function?

Answer 1

The following code can be compiled and runs properly, using MinGW G++ 3.4.5 on Window 7:

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

using namespace std;

template <typename T>
class A{
public:
    virtual void func1(const T& p)
    {
        cout<<"A:"<<p<<endl;
    }
};

template <typename T>
class B
: public A<T>
{
public:
    virtual void func1(const T& p)
    {
        cout<<"A<--B:"<<p<<endl;
    }
};

int main(int argc, char** argv)
{
    A<string> a;
    B<int> b;
    B<string> c;

    A<string>* p = &a;
    p->func1("A<string> a");
    p = dynamic_cast<A<string>*>(&c);
    p->func1("B<string> c");
    B<int>* q = &b;
    q->func1(3);
}

and the output is:

A:A<string> a
A<--B:B<string> c
A<--B:3

And later I added a new class X:

class X
{
public:
    template <typename T>
    virtual void func2(const T& p)
    {
        cout<<"C:"<<p<<endl;
    }
};

When I tried to use class X in main() like this:

X x;
x.func2<string>("X x");

g++ report the following error:

vtempl.cpp:34: error: invalid use of `virtual' in template declaration of `virtu
al void X::func2(const T&)'

So it is obvious that:

• virtual member function can be used in a class template. It is easy for compiler to construct vtable
• It is impossible to define a class template member function as virtual, as you can see, it hard to determine function signature and allocate vtable entries.

Answer 2

No, template member functions cannot be virtual.

Answer 3

At least with gcc 5.4 virtual functions could be template members but has to be templates themselves.

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
class first {
protected:
    virtual std::string  a1() { return "a1"; }
    virtual std::string  mixt() { return a1(); }
};

class last {
protected:
    virtual std::string a2() { return "a2"; }
};

template<class T>  class mix: first , T {
    public:
    virtual std::string mixt() override;
};

template<class T> std::string mix<T>::mixt() {
   return a1()+" before "+T::a2();
}

class mix2: public mix<last>  {
    virtual std::string a1() override { return "mix"; }
};

int main() {
    std::cout << mix2().mixt();
    return 0;
}

Outputs

mix before a2
Process finished with exit code 0

Answer 4

Templates are all about the compiler generating code at compile-time. Virtual functions are all about the run-time system figuring out which function to call at run-time.

Once the run-time system figured out it would need to call a templatized virtual function, compilation is all done and the compiler cannot generate the appropriate instance anymore. Therefore you cannot have virtual member function templates.

However, there are a few powerful and interesting techniques stemming from combining polymorphism and templates, notably so-called type erasure.

Answer 5

In the other answers the proposed template function is a facade and doesn't offer any practical benefit.

• Template functions are useful for writing code only once using different types.
• Virtual functions are useful for having a common interface for different classes.

The language doesn't allow virtual template functions but with a workaround it is possible to have both, e.g. one template implementation for each class and a virtual common interface.

It is however necessary to define for each template type combination a dummy virtual wrapper function:

#include <memory>
#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>

//---------------------------------------------
// Abstract class with virtual functions
class Geometry {
public:
    virtual void getArea(float &area) = 0;
    virtual void getArea(long double &area) = 0;
};

//---------------------------------------------
// Square
class Square : public Geometry {
public:
    float size {1};

    // virtual wrapper functions call template function for square
    virtual void getArea(float &area) { getAreaT(area); }
    virtual void getArea(long double &area) { getAreaT(area); }

private:
    // Template function for squares
    template <typename T>
    void getAreaT(T &area) {
        area = static_cast<T>(size * size);
    }
};

//---------------------------------------------
// Circle
class Circle : public Geometry  {
public:
    float radius {1};

    // virtual wrapper functions call template function for circle
    virtual void getArea(float &area) { getAreaT(area); }
    virtual void getArea(long double &area) { getAreaT(area); }

private:
    // Template function for Circles
    template <typename T>
    void getAreaT(T &area) {
        area = static_cast<T>(radius * radius * 3.1415926535897932385L);
    }
};


//---------------------------------------------
// Main
int main()
{
    // get area of square using template based function T=float
    std::unique_ptr<Geometry> geometry = std::make_unique<Square>();
    float areaSquare;
    geometry->getArea(areaSquare);

    // get area of circle using template based function T=long double
    geometry = std::make_unique<Circle>();
    long double areaCircle;
    geometry->getArea(areaCircle);

    std::cout << std::setprecision(20) << "Square area is " << areaSquare << ", Circle area is " << areaCircle << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

Output:

Square area is 1, Circle area is 3.1415926535897932385

Try it here