Is it possible to change a C++ object's class after instantiation?

Question

I have a bunch of classes which all inherit the same attributes from a common base class. The base class implements some virtual functions that work in general cases, whilst eac

Answer 1

No it's not possible to change the type of an object once instantiated.

*object = baseObject; doesn't change the type of object, it merely calls a compiler-generated assignment operator.

It would have been a different matter if you had written

object = new Base;

(remembering to call delete naturally; currently your code leaks an object).

C++11 onwards gives you the ability to move the resources from one object to another; see

http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/utility/move