Subclass object into function that takes superclass object | Together C & C++ | Page 1

scenic ruin Aug 31, 2022, 4:05 AM

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If I have a function that takes in a cake, would I be able to pass a chocolate_cake into the function if chocolate_cake was a subclass of cake?

quick iris Aug 31, 2022, 4:07 AM

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Yes, but it will 'slice' the chocolate_cake object into just a cake, and call the cake's methods instead. You need to pass a reference to that chocolate_cake to use polymorphism, I believe

clear fossil Aug 31, 2022, 4:09 AM

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correct

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derived classes are almost always bigger than their base classes. So if you have a "box" the size of the base class, then trying to put a derived class into that box "slices off" the extra information from the derived class

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so you use references/pointers to get around this

#Subclass object into function that takes superclass object