Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!hpl-opus!hpcc05!hpsciz!masa From: masa@hpsciz.sc.hp.com (Masayoshi Habu) Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++ Subject: Re: Pure virtual destructors are illegal? Message-ID: <1410006@hpsciz.sc.hp.com> Date: 3 Jun 91 17:02:23 GMT References: <183@swampthing.sbi.com> Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Clara, CA Lines: 18 In comp.lang.c++, pete@borland.com (Pete Becker) writes: "Pure virtual" does not mean "no implementation"! It only means that a derived class must override the pure virtual function. In the case of a pure virtual destructor, since it will be called by the destructor for the derived class, you must provide an implementation. -- Pete Please correct me if I am wrong. A pure virtual function usually has no implementation because the intention is to catch a run-time error if this function is never overridden and called somehow. However, in this case it does not make sense to have a pure virtual destructor because even though it is virtual, this destructor is called eventually anyway. So my opinion is that the compiler should reject a pure virtual destrcutor. What does ARM say about this ? Masa