How do I remove code duplication between similar const and non-const member functions?

Question

Let\'s say I have the following class X where I want to return access to an internal member:

class Z
{
    // details
};

class X
{
    std::vec         


        

Answer 1

Nice question and nice answers. I have another solution, that uses no casts:

class X {

private:

    std::vector v;

    template
    static auto get(InstanceType& instance, std::size_t i) -> decltype(instance.get(i)) {
        // massive amounts of code for validating index
        // the instance variable has to be used to access class members
        return instance.v[i];
    }

public:

    const Z& get(std::size_t i) const {
        return get(*this, i);
    }

    Z& get(std::size_t i) {
        return get(*this, i);
    }

};

However, it has the ugliness of requiring a static member and the need of using the instance variable inside it.

I did not consider all the possible (negative) implications of this solution. Please let me know if any.