Question

I am building an application where there are multiple classes that inherit from a single base class. Let’s say I have this declaration:

ref class WorkScreenBase abstract
{
internal:
   WorkScreenBase(void);
   bool isLoaded;
}

I have several classes that implement it, for example:

ref class MainScreen : public WorkScreenBase
{
internal:
   MainScreen(void);
   ~MainScreen(void);
}

In another part of the application, I want to have a container for any potential implementation of WorkScreenBase, so I am trying to use:

WorkScreenBase^ myCurrentBase;

However, it appears that this would be illegal. What would be the best way to approach the problem?

UPDATE: I could use a MainScreen^ myCurrentScreen, but would much rather use the base class as the reference point for flexibility reasons.

Answer 1

The issue was fixed in a way that I did not expect (at least according to the compiler error thrown). The problem was in the header file cross-reference. Somehow, both with header guards and #pragma once, I ended up with a circular .h reference.

So, conclusion:

• The compiler can throw errors that might not exactly describe the
  problem.
• Double-check the headers for circular references. Headers guards and #pragma once are good, but won’t help you against that.