Virtual/pure virtual explained

Question

What exactly does it mean if a function is defined as virtual and is that the same as pure virtual?

Answer 1

In a C++ class, virtual is the keyword which designates that, a method can be overridden (i.e. implemented by) a subclass. For example:

class Shape 
{
  public:
    Shape();
    virtual ~Shape();

    std::string getName() // not overridable
    {
      return m_name;
    }

    void setName( const std::string& name ) // not overridable
    {
      m_name = name;
    }

  protected:
    virtual void initShape() // overridable
    {
      setName("Generic Shape");
    }

  private:
    std::string m_name;
};

In this case a subclass can override the the initShape function to do some specialized work:

class Square : public Shape
{
  public: 
    Square();
    virtual ~Square();

  protected:
    virtual void initShape() // override the Shape::initShape function
    {
      setName("Square");
    }
}

The term pure virtual refers to virtual functions that need to be implemented by a subclass and have not been implemented by the base class. You designate a method as pure virtual by using the virtual keyword and adding a =0 at the end of the method declaration.

So, if you wanted to make Shape::initShape pure virtual you would do the following:

class Shape 
{
 ...
    virtual void initShape() = 0; // pure virtual method
 ... 
};

By adding a pure virtual method to your class you make the class an abstract base class which is very handy for separating interfaces from implementation.