Why do we need virtual functions in C++?

Question

I\'m learning C++ and I\'m just getting into virtual functions.

From what I\'ve read (in the book and online), virtual functions are functions in the base class that

Answer 1

The keyword virtual tells the compiler it should not perform early binding. Instead, it should automatically install all the mechanisms necessary to perform late binding. To accomplish this, the typical compiler1 creates a single table (called the VTABLE) for each class that contains virtual functions.The compiler places the addresses of the virtual functions for that particular class in the VTABLE. In each class with virtual functions,it secretly places a pointer, called the vpointer (abbreviated as VPTR), which points to the VTABLE for that object. When you make a virtual function call through a base-class pointer the compiler quietly inserts code to fetch the VPTR and look up the function address in the VTABLE, thus calling the correct function and causing late binding to take place.

More details in this link http://cplusplusinterviews.blogspot.sg/2015/04/virtual-mechanism.html