CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++templates
ony_pox232
ony_pox232

Reputation: 171

c++ Template specialization with derived class

I am having problems trying to specialize a template method of a class to accept a derived class. I've tried with pointers as well and end up with many more issues than this iteration.

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

class Json {
  public:
    Json(){}
    virtual ~Json(){}
    template <class T>
    bool Get(std::string key, T& value);
};

template <class T>
bool Json::Get(std::string key, T& value){
    std::cout << "Call default GET" << std::endl;
}

template <>
bool Json::Get(std::string key, Json& value){
    std::cout << "Call JSON GET" << std::endl;
}

class JsonError : public Json {
    public:
        JsonError(){}
        ~JsonError(){}
};

int main()
{
    // OK
    int int_value = 0;
    Json json;
    json.Get("int", int_value);
    
    // OK
    Json json_value;
    json.Get("json", json_value);
    
    // NOT OK
    JsonError json_error_value;
    json.Get("error", json_error_value);
    
    return 0;
}

This should print out

Call default GET                                                                                                                                            
Call JSON GET                                                                                                                                               
Call JSON GET

Upvotes: 2

Views: 181

Answers (1)

super
super

Reputation: 12928

That's not how templates work. Template deduction is always on the exact type, in this case JsonError, so the specialization for Json& is not matched.

If you still want to make it work, you can overload the template function with a member function taking Json&. The template function will still be a better match for a derived type, so we also need to disable the template method for any type deriving from Json.

#include <iostream>

class Json {
  public:
    Json(){}
    virtual ~Json(){}
    template <class T, std::enable_if_t<!std::is_base_of_v<Json, T>, int> = 0>
    bool Get(std::string key, T& value);

    bool Get(std::string key, Json& value);
};

template <class T, std::enable_if_t<!std::is_base_of_v<Json, T>, int> = 0>
bool Json::Get(std::string key, T& value){
    std::cout << "Call default GET" << std::endl;
    return true;
}

bool Json::Get(std::string key, Json& value){
    std::cout << "Call JSON GET" << std::endl;
    return true;
}

class JsonError : public Json {
    public:
        JsonError(){}
        ~JsonError(){}
};

int main()
{
    // OK
    int int_value = 0;
    Json json;
    json.Get("int", int_value);
    
    // OK
    Json json_value;
    json.Get("json", json_value);
    
    // NOW IT'S OK
    JsonError json_error_value;
    json.Get("error", json_error_value);
    
    return 0;
}

Upvotes: 3

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