How to call a parent class function from derived class function?

oneBelizean_17337 0
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How do I call the parent function from a derived class using C++? For example, I have a class called parent, and a class called child which is derived from parent. Within each class there is a print function. In the definition of the child's print function I would like to make a call to the parents print function. How would I go about doing this?

inheritance oop c++
7 Answers

I'll take the risk of stating the obvious: You call the function, if it's defined in the base class it's automatically available in the derived class (unless it's private).

If there is a function with the same signature in the derived class you can disambiguate it by adding the base class's name followed by two colons base_class::foo(...). You should note that unlike Java and C#, C++ does not have a keyword for "the base class" (super or base) since C++ supports multiple inheritance which may lead to ambiguity.

class left {
public:
    void foo();
};

class right {
public:
    void foo();
};

class bottom : public left, public right {
public:
    void foo()
    {
        //base::foo();// ambiguous
        left::foo();
        right::foo();

        // and when foo() is not called for 'this':
        bottom b;
        b.left::foo();  // calls b.foo() from 'left'
        b.right::foo();  // call b.foo() from 'right'
    }
};

Incidentally, you can't derive directly from the same class twice since there will be no way to refer to one of the base classes over the other.

class bottom : public left, public left { // Illegal
};
user_38480

Given a parent class named Parent and a child class named Child, you can do something like this:

class Parent {
public:
    virtual void print(int x);
};

class Child : public Parent {
    void print(int x) override;
};

void Parent::print(int x) {
    // some default behavior
}

void Child::print(int x) {
    // use Parent's print method; implicitly passes 'this' to Parent::print
    Parent::print(x);
}

Note that Parent is the class's actual name and not a keyword.

Greg_Hewgill_8930

If your base class is called Base, and your function is called FooBar() you can call it directly using Base::FooBar()

void Base::FooBar()
{
   printf("in Base\n");
}

void ChildOfBase::FooBar()
{
  Base::FooBar();
}
user_404100

In MSVC there is a Microsoft specific keyword for that: __super

MSDN: Allows you to explicitly state that you are calling a base-class implementation for a function that you are overriding. 

// deriv_super.cpp
// compile with: /c
struct B1 {
   void mf(int) {}
};

struct B2 {
   void mf(short) {}

   void mf(char) {}
};

struct D : B1, B2 {
   void mf(short) {
      __super::mf(1);   // Calls B1::mf(int)
      __super::mf('s');   // Calls B2::mf(char)
   }
};
user_1066880

Call the parent method with the parent scope resolution operator.

Parent::method()

class Primate {
public:
    void whatAmI(){
        cout << "I am of Primate order";
    }
};

class Human : public Primate{
public:
    void whatAmI(){
        cout << "I am of Human species";
    }
    void whatIsMyOrder(){
        Primate::whatAmI(); // <-- SCOPE RESOLUTION OPERATOR
    }
};
user_59593720
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