Steinar Bang wrote:
Mark Mitchell <m...@codesourcery.com>:
I think virtual functions are on the edge; quite useful, but do result
in the compiler adding a pointer to data objects and in uninlinable
indirect calls at run-time. Therefore, I would avoid them in the
initial subset of C++ used in GCC.
Umm...? Virtual functions are _the_ core C++ feature for creating OO
frameworks.
Allowing C++ but avoiding virtual functions seems odd to me.
Not at all, data abstraction and inheritance do not depend on
virtual functions. You can do a lot without allowing dynamic
dispatching. Of course there are some cases where dynamic
dispatching makes things easier, but to regard it as *the*
core feature of C++ seems dubious to me (the STL in general
relies on templates, but not dynamic dispatching as far as
I know).
