Homework #3
CS 325
Due: 9:30 am on Tuesday 17-Feb
Answer the following questions in detail:
1. What does it mean for a function to be thread-safe?
More than one thread can correctly run the function simultaneously – thus
no locking, racing, etc.
2. Suppose class W inherits from class X which inherits from Y and this
inherits from the base-class B0?
Consider the following declarations:
virtual void B0::basicFunction()
void Y::basicFunction()
virtual void X::basicFunction()
void W::basicFunction()
then describe the polymorphic behavior of the pointers:
B0 *b0_ptr;
Y *y_ptr;
X *x_ptr;
W *w_ptr;
3. What is the difference between overriding and overloading?
Overriding a member function replaces a function with the same name through
inheritance: the most recent inherited class may redefine a member function with
the same name.
Overloading a function allows several functions with different signatures to have
the same name.
4. Why do we use virtual destructors and how do they ensure
everything is destructed?
Destructors are always invoked in the opposite order of the constructors. Thus,
making a destructor virtual ensures the destructor associated with the pointer is
