Why can't we create an instance of an abstract class?

Question

I found in many places that :

• An Abstract Class is a class which is supposed to be used as a base class.
• An Abstract Class is a class which has atleas

Answer 1

An abstract class is more than an interface. It may have data members. It may have member functions that are not pure virtual, or non-virtual at all. Even a pure virtual function may have a body, providing a default implementation. So this is not about a physical impossibility of instantiating an abstract class.

The main point is that a pure virtual function is a virtual function that must be overridden by a derived class. That means that a derived class must be defined, and the way to force that is to forbid the instantiation of an abstract class.

An abstract class is not specific enough to be instantiated. Not necessarily because it is missing a definition of a function, because it may not be missing it. It is not specific enough because it represents an abstract concept, which must be made more specific before it can be instantiated.