8.15. Calling a Superclass Virtual Function
Problem
You need to invoke a function on a
superclass of a particular class, but it is overridden in subclasses, so the
usual syntax of p->method() won’t give you the
results you are after.
Solution
Qualify the name of the member function you want to call with the target base class; for example, if you have two classes. (See Example 8-16.)
Example 8-16. Calling a specific version of a virtual function
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
class Base {
public:
virtual void foo() {cout << "Base::foo()" << endl;}
};
class Derived : public Base {
public:
virtual void foo() {cout << "Derived::foo()" << endl;}
};
int main() {
Derived* p = new Derived();
p->foo(); // Calls the derived version
p->Base::foo(); // Calls the base version
}Discussion
Making a regular practice of overriding C++’s polymorphic facilities is not a good idea, but there are times when you have to do it. As with so many techniques in C++, it is largely a matter of syntax. When you want to call a specific base class’s version of a virtual function, just qualify it with the name of the class you are after, as I did in Example 8-16:
p->Base::foo();
This will call the version of foo defined for
Base, and not the one defined for whatever subclass
of Base
p points to.