Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!uunet!tcs!nujoizey!gwu
From: gwu@nujoizey.tcs.com (George Wu)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: problem with virtual function
Keywords: constructor virtual table
Message-ID: <970@tcs.tcs.com>
Date: 22 Aug 90 00:24:46 GMT
References: <9008201757.AA23899@sirius.risc.com>
Sender: usenet@tcs.com
Reply-To: gwu@nujoizey.tcs.com (George Wu)
Organization: Teknekron Communications Systems
Lines: 17


     This question has been asked before.  According to Stanley Lippman's
"C++ Primer," virtual functions called from the constructor or destructor of
a base class will call the virtual function defined in the base class.  This
is by definition of the C++ language.

     The explanation is that at construction time, the derived object will
not yet be constructed, so the function cannot be from the derived class.
Likewise, in the destructor, the derived class will have already been
destroyed.

							George

----
George J Wu                           | gwu@tcs.com or ucbcad!tcs!gwu
Software Engineer                     | 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA, 94704
Teknekron Communications Systems, Inc.| (415) 649-3752