Runtime Polymorphism - Back to the Basics

Explore the intricacies of runtime polymorphism in C++ through this comprehensive ACCU 2018 conference talk by Louis Dionne. Delve into alternative designs beyond traditional inheritance-based approaches, examining their tradeoffs and characteristics. Learn about a policy-based approach that enables runtime polymorphism with various storage options, including stack-allocated, heap-allocated, shared, and reference semantics. Discover how to achieve fine-grained control over dispatch mechanisms, potentially outperforming classic virtual tables. Gain insights from real-world implementations in the Dyno library and walk away with a clear understanding of different runtime polymorphism implementations, their tradeoffs, and guidelines for choosing the most appropriate solution for your specific use case.