CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++c
Cool_Coder
Cool_Coder

Reputation: 5073

C++ equivalent of Union in C?

Lately I have been studying C and I came across the concept of Union. I like it because it can be used to represent any data type. Of course it is helpful only for certain rare and special circumstances. In C++ everything is done with classes. Of course similar functionality like Union can be implemented using classes. So I wanted to know whether C++ supports a Union equivalent, so that I don't re-invent the wheel.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 847

Answers (1)

Steve Jessop
Steve Jessop

Reputation: 279245

You probably want Boost.Variant.

C++ does have union like in C, but because a union doesn't keep track of what type is stored in it, it wouldn't be able to execute the correct destructor if used with non-trivial types. The resulting restrictions on the use of union in C++ make it quite non-general.

Upvotes: 5

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