[Boost-users] [Boost.Iterators] iterator_facade + a class design issue

From: Ashkan Aliabadi (ashkan.aliabadi_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-03-06 18:05:53

Dear all,

I've decided to write an ABC named BasicIterator, from which all derived
iterators are to be descended. The reason being that I have to refer to
iterators inside an interface and I need a general base type as a place
holder to which I can refer. Besides, I don't want to use CRTP in the
interface, but I don't care if I'm forced to use it inside BasicIterator.

As discussed in the interoperability section of iterator_facade
(here<http://www.boost.org/libs/iterator/doc/iterator_facade.html#interoperability>),
the euqal() function must be templatized. The problem is that I have to make
equal() a pure virtual member function in order to force derived types
override it, but templated virtual functions on the other hand, are not
valid.

So I was wondering what the best approach is. How can I achieve both of
these goals? Please advise.

Any ideas/suggestions are welcome.
Thanks in advance