C++ Tutorial – 31 – Type Conversions II

Static cast

The static cast performs conversions between compatible types. It is similar to the C-style cast, but is more restrictive. For example, the C-style cast would allow an integer pointer to point to a char.

char c = 10;       // 1 byte
int *p = (int*)&c; // 4 bytes

Since this results in a 4-byte pointer pointing to 1 byte of allocated memory, writing to this pointer will either cause a run-time error or will overwrite some adjacent memory.

*p = 5; // run-time error: stack corruption

In contrast to the C-style cast, the static cast will allow the compiler to check that the pointer and pointee data types are compatible, which allows the programmer to catch this incorrect pointer assignment during compilation.

int *q = static_cast<int*>(&c); // compile-time error

Reinterpret cast

To force the pointer conversion, in the same way as the C-style cast does in the background, the reinterpret cast would be used instead.

int *r = reinterpret_cast<int*>(&c); // forced conversion

This cast handles conversions between certain unrelated types, such as from one pointer type to another incompatible pointer type. It will simply perform a binary copy of the data without altering the underlying bit pattern. Note that the result of such a low-level operation is system-specific and therefore not portable. It should be used with caution if it cannot be avoided altogether.

Const cast

The third C++ cast is the const cast. This one is primarily used to add or remove the const modifier of a variable.

const int myConst = 5;
int *nonConst = const_cast<int*>(&myConst); // removes const

Although const cast allows the value of a constant to be changed, doing so is still invalid code that may cause a run-time error. This could occur for example if the constant was located in a section of read-only memory.

*nonConst = 10; // potential run-time error

Const cast is instead used mainly when there is a function that takes a non-constant pointer argument, even though it does not modify the pointee.

void print(int *p) { std::cout << *p; }

The function can then be passed a constant variable by using a const cast.

print(&myConst); // error: cannot convert 
                 // const int* to int*
 
print(nonConst); // allowed

C-style and new-style casts

Keep in mind that the C-style cast can also remove the const modifier, but again since it does this conversion behind the scenes the C++ casts are preferable. Another reason to use the C++ casts is that they are easier to find in the source code then the C-style cast. This is important because casting errors can be difficult to discover. A third reason for using the C++ casts is that they are unpleasant to write. Since explicit conversion in many cases can be avoided, this was done intentionally so that programmers would look for a different solution.