How does the following code work?
typedef char (&yes)[1];
typedef char (&no)[2];
template <typename B, typename D>
struct Host
{
operator B*() const;
operator D*();
};
template <typename B, typename D>
struct is_base_of
{
template <typename T>
static yes check(D*, T);
static no check(B*, int);
static const bool value = sizeof(check(Host<B,D>(), int())) == sizeof(yes);
};
//Test sample
class Base {};
class Derived : private Base {};
//Expression is true.
int test[is_base_of<Base,Derived>::value && !is_base_of<Derived,Base>::value];
Note that B
is private base. How does this work?
Note that operator B*()
is const. Why is it important?
Why is template<typename T> static yes check(D*, T);
better than static yes check(B*, int);
?
Note: It is reduced version (macros are removed) of boost::is_base_of
. And this works on wide range of compilers.