Preventing Virtual Method Implementation in C++

Question

I have the following class hierarchy in C++:

class Base {
    virtual void apply() = 0;
};

class Derived : public Base {
    virtual void apply() {
        // implementation here that uses derived_specialty
    }

    virtual void derived_specialty() = 0;
};


class Implementation : public Derived {   
    virtual void derived_specialty() {
        // implementation
    }
};

I'd like to guarantee that classes at the level of Implementation don't supply their own implementation of apply, and that they only implement derived_specialty. Is there any way to guarantee that classes inheriting from Derived will not implement apply, so that the Derived::apply implementation is used? My understanding is that in C++, a method made virtual in the Base class is virtual all the way down the inheritance hierarchy, but if there are any tricks in C++ to accomplish, I'd be interested in hearing about them.

I'm always surprised by the things that are allowed by C++, so I thought it was worth asking. :)

Answer 1

You can kind of do it by composition:

class Base {
    virtual void apply();
};

class Derived : public Base {

    class IImplementation {
        virtual void derived_specialty() = 0;
    };

    IImplementation& m_implementation;

    Derived(IImplementation& implementation)
        : m_implementation(implementation)
    {}

    virtual void apply() {
        // implementation here that uses m_implementation.derived_specialty
    }

};


class Implementation : Derived::IImplementation {   
    virtual void derived_specialty() {
        // implementation
    }
};

Other classes can still subclass Derived and override the apply method, but your Implementation class is no longer one of these classes.

Answer 2

Make the restriction clear in your documentation.

Answer 3

You could make Implementation a delegate class rather than a specialization of Derived

class Derived : public Base
{
    Derived()

    void apply() 
    {
        //whatever, delegate to impl class instance
        impl->apply_specialization();
    }


    Impl* impl;
};

class Impl : public WhateverImplInterface
{
      void apply_specialization(){}
};

Then the implementation doesn't have access to the apply function and is separated from the hierarchy. The Derived class is then parameterized by an instance of Impl class.

Answer 4

You could make Base::apply non-virtual and use the template method pattern within Base too.

This article explains advantages of this practice:
http://www.gotw.ca/publications/mill18.htm

Answer 5

"I'd like to guarantee that classes at the level of Implementation don't supply their own implementation of apply."

You can't.

None of the examples I've seen so far prevent any of the derived classes from defining their own apply function. They all provide methods for modelling the relationship between apply and derived_specialty, suggesting to users that they shouldn't override apply. You can achieve the same in a line of documentation, though.

What you're looking for is the Java final statement that doesn't exist in C++, right?

Answer 6

You can put an assertion in the destructor to make sure apply was not overridden:

class Base {
    virtual void apply() = 0;
};

class Derived : public Base {
    virtual void apply() {
        // implementation here that uses derived_specialty
    }
    virtual ~Derived() {
        assert(this->apply == Derived::apply);
    }
    virtual void derived_specialty() = 0;
};


class Implementation : public Derived {   
    virtual void derived_specialty() {
        // implementation
    }
};

The idea here is that this->apply will get the method address from the virtual table, while Derived::apply resolves it in compile time. If they are equal, apply was not overridden again in the Implementation class. This approach has also the advantage that it imposes no performance penalty in the release build, where assert() macros are (should be) stripped from the generated code.

Answer 7

Try using template method pattern

Wikipedia has a C++ example.

It doesn't change the encapsulation, but it improves the design so you don't need to.

Answer 8

There's always access modifiers:

 class base {
      protected: virtual void real_apply() = 0;
 };
 class derived : public base {
      void real_apply();
 public:
      apply() { real_apply(); }
 };
 class other : public derived {
      void func() {
          apply();      // this is ok
          real_apply(); // this is a compile time error
      }
 };