Hands-On Embedded Programming with C++17

Type conversions

A type conversion occurs whenever a value is assigned to a compatible variable, which is not the exact same type as the value. Whenever a rule for conversion exists, this conversion can be done implicitly, otherwise an explicit hint (cast) can be provided to the compiler to invoke a specific rule where ambiguity exists.

Whereas C only has implicit and explicit type casting, C++ expands on this with a number of template-based functions, allowing you to cast both regular types and objects (classes) in a variety of ways:

• dynamic_cast <new_type> (expression)
• reinterpret_cast <new_type> (expression)
• static_cast <new_type> (expression)
• const_cast <new_type> (expression)

Here, dynamic_cast guarantees that the resulting object ...