Tribe.net. Local Connections Genghis "Doh!" http://CPP.tribe.net/thread/301c4b47-8eb1-48c7-b265-e77bccb108ab#ae996112-cc1f-46b5-8c4c-39285eeba3df 2004-03-15T17:34:09Z

A couple years ago, a friend of mine who's a fellow C++ geek mentioned that virtual methods should not be invoked from a constructor because it's unknown whether a given C++ implementation initializes a class's virtual table before or after its constructor is invoked. This isn't an issue with the C++ version I've worked with (Microsoft's Visual Studio C++) but I'm wondering whether anyone here has run into an implementation where it IS an issue. I haven't checked g++ yet... Best, Don

Genghis "Doh!" 2004-03-15T17:34:09Z Bartosz http://CPP.tribe.net/thread/301c4b47-8eb1-48c7-b265-e77bccb108ab#718641ca-05a3-41e9-9a73-31da90ba151e 2004-03-15T22:29:31Z

Your geek friend was right. Never call virtual functions from a constructor or a destructor. During construction and destruction the vtables are switched (they must be, if you think about it). It's part of the C++ Standard.

Bartosz 2004-03-15T22:29:31Z Genghis "Doh!" http://CPP.tribe.net/thread/301c4b47-8eb1-48c7-b265-e77bccb108ab#dc7b4020-ecfb-41d2-8844-066682f6217b 2004-03-18T21:18:44Z

Suggest a good book that would help me master C++ with this level of knowledge?

Genghis "Doh!" 2004-03-18T21:18:44Z Bartosz http://CPP.tribe.net/thread/301c4b47-8eb1-48c7-b265-e77bccb108ab#4fe07c21-241b-41f4-b39b-2970a6eb4b23 2004-03-23T23:37:40Z

Have a look at my book "C++ In Action" online at http://www.relisoft.com/book . If you like it, you can buy one used for less than $10 (there's a link there).

Bartosz 2004-03-23T23:37:40Z Genghis "Doh!" http://CPP.tribe.net/thread/301c4b47-8eb1-48c7-b265-e77bccb108ab#8dc41a64-9c35-44fe-8c07-f7412fb23abd 2004-03-23T23:40:47Z

VERY cool! Thanks for the tip!

Genghis "Doh!" 2004-03-23T23:40:47Z