Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!apple!voder!procase!roger
From: roger@procase.UUCP (Roger H. Scott)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: Why is << in the class ostream not virtual?
Message-ID: <198@c.procase.UUCP>
Date: 15 Oct 90 20:13:31 GMT
References: <45575@apple.Apple.COM>
Reply-To: roger@procase.UUCP (Roger H. Scott)
Organization: proCASE Corporation, Santa Clara, CA
Lines: 12

In article <45575@apple.Apple.COM> amb@Apple.COM (A. Michael Burbidge) writes:
>... I discovered that the << operators in ostream are not virtual. Why?

Two reasons: first, because the creators of C++ made, IMHO, the wrong decision
about the default binding of member functions - i.e., non-virtual is the
default so you have to say *more* to get the (again, IMHO) normal virtual
behavior; second, because the class designers had the gall to presume that
you wouldn't want/need to redefine the implementation of this operation.

It is probably too late to do anything about the first problem, but the
second problem *is* under our (programmers') control.  Do the right thing -
make them virtual!