Question

This is what I would like to do:

ExampleTemplate* pointer_to_template;
cin >> number;
switch (number) {
case 1:
    pointer_to_template = new ExampleTemplate<int>();
    break;
case 2:
    pointer_to_template = new ExampleTemplate<double>();
    break;
}
pointer_to_template->doStuff();

This doesn’t compile because the template type must be specified when declaring the pointer. (ExampleTemplate* pointer_to_template should be ExampleTemplate<int>* pointer_to_template.) Unfortunately, I don’t know the type of the template until it’s declared in the switch block. What is the best work around for this situation?

Answer 1

You can’t. ExampleTemplate<int> and ExampleTemplate<double> are two different, unrelated types. If you always have a switch over several options, use boost::variant instead.

typedef boost::variant<Example<int>, Example<double>> ExampleVariant;
ExampleVariant v;
switch (number) {
    case 1: v = Example<int>(); break;
    case 2: v = Example<double>(); break;
}
// here you need a visitor, see Boost.Variant docs for an example

Another way is to use an ordinary base class with virtual public interface, but I’d prefer variant.

struct BaseExample {
    virtual void do_stuff() = 0;
    virtual ~BaseExample() {}
};

template <typename T>
struct Example : BaseExample { ... };

// ..
BaseExample *obj;