Re: Double dispatch (makes no sense!)

From:
Andrey Tarasevich <andreytarasevich@hotmail.com>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++
Date:
Thu, 08 May 2008 17:46:12 -0700
Message-ID:
<g006sg$thl$1@aioe.org>
saneman wrote:

...
class Box : public geometry_type
{
public :
  Box() {}

  virtual void haps(geometry_type* other)
  {
        other->collideWith(this);
  }

  virtual void collideWith(Sphere* other) {
    std::cout << "Sphere collision with Sphere" << std::endl;


Huh? This should be "Box collision with Sphere", shouldn't it?

  }

  virtual void collideWith(Box* other) {
    std::cout << "Box collision with Box" << std::endl;
  }

};

class Sphere : public geometry_type
{
public :
  Sphere() {}

  virtual void haps(geometry_type* other)
  {
        other->collideWith(this);
  }

  virtual void collideWith(Sphere* other) {
    std::cout << "Sphere collision with Sphere" << std::endl;
  }

  virtual void collideWith(Box* other) {
    std::cout << "Sphere collision with Box" << std::endl;
  }

};

void narrow_phase(geometry_type* G1, geometry_type* G2)
{
  G1->haps(G2);
}

int main()
{
  Box* BoxA = new Box();
  Sphere* SphereA = new Sphere();

  BoxA->collideWith(BoxA);
  SphereA->collideWith(BoxA);

  // Should print box collide with box.
  narrow_phase(BoxA, BoxA);

  // Should print sphere collide with box.
  narrow_phase(SphereA, BoxA);


No. Your 'haps' method essentially "swaps" the objects involved in the
collision (take a closer look at it): 'G1' from 'narrow_phase' becomes
'this' in 'haps'. So, it should print "Box collision with Sphere". And
it will, if you fix the error mentioned above.

  // Should print box collide with sphere.
  narrow_phase(BoxA, SphereA);


Again, no. For the very same reason it should print "Sphere collision
with Box". And that exactly what it prints.

  return 0;

}

But when I run main I get:

Box collision with Box
Sphere collision with Box
Box collision with Box
Sphere collision with Sphere
Sphere collision with Box

What goes on in the last two calls?


See above.

--
Best regards,
Andrey Tarasevich

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