Re: What is the static type of 'this'

From:
=?UTF-8?B?SMOpcmkgVGFtw6Fz?= <nospam@nospam.invalid>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++.moderated
Date:
Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:34:20 CST
Message-ID:
<uOGdnYShne4KdqXXnZ2dnUVZ8v2dnZ2d@giganews.com>
Kris Prad wrote:

In the following code, I make a call to func() that accepts Base, but
I pass DerivedFromPrivateBase which privately inherits Base.
The call is accepted (compiles) when made from a member of
DerivedFromPrivateBase f2.
Does not compile if called from elsewhere, say from
TestPrivateInheritance(). Is this OK?
Compiled on Visual C++ 2008 express and Comeau
---------------------------------

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

struct Base
{
virtual void f() = 0;
};

void func(Base* b)
{
b->f(); // calls DerivedFromPrivateBase ::f() in the code
}

struct DerivedFromPrivateBase : private Base
{
void f()
{
cout << "DerivedFromPrivateBase:f() called" << endl;
}
void f2()
{
func(this); // Compiles: this is DerivedFromPrivateBase but calls
func that accepts Base
}
};

void TestPrivateInheritance()
{
DerivedFromPrivateBase d;
d.f2();
// func (&d); // this gives compile error about inaccessible base
}


That is correct, and it should be so. "Base" is a private parent, and that
means, that nobody, except DerivedFromPrivateBase members can convert an
DerivedFromPrivateBase* pointer to a Base* pointer.

So shortly in DerivedFromPrivateBase::f2() this conversion succeeds, but nowhere
else. The key to understand the problem is that the conversion is made inside
f2() (which can make that), and not in func(). The two calls of func() are
placed in a different context. In f2(), the conversion is possible, outside
DerivedFromPrivateBase, is not.

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--
H?ri Tam?s

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