Calling Base Class Operators

I have a question about calling operators of a base class from a derived class. Here's some sample code:

Code:

#include <iostream>

using std::cout;
using std::endl;

class Base
{
public:
	Base(int a) : m_a(a) {}
	bool operator==(const Base& op1)
		{
			return (m_a == op1.m_a);
		}
private:
	int m_a;
};

class Derived : public Base
{
public:
	Derived(int a, int b) : Base(a), m_b(b) {}
	bool operator==(const Derived& op1)
		{
			return (((Base*)this)->operator==(op1)) && 
				(m_b == op1.m_b);
		}
private:
	int m_b;
};

int main()
{
	Derived a(10,3), b(10,3);

	if (a == b)
		cout << "Equal" << endl;
	else
		cout << "Not equal" << endl;

	return 0;
}

The bold part is the part I'm wondering about. I know I can do it that way and it seems to work, but is there a prettier way to do it? I realize that I could have m_a be protected instead of private and then test, but m_a needs to be private. I was hoping for some sort of syntax that didn't have operator== explicitly stated and that looked more like a normal == test.

Thanks.

How about:

Code:

    bool operator==(const Derived& op1) {
         return ( static_cast<Base>(*this) == static_cast<Base>(op1)) && (m_b == op1.m_b);
    }

Originally Posted by pianorain

I know I can do it that way and it seems to work, but is there a prettier way to do it?

Maybe:

Code:

return m_b == op1.m_b && Base::operator==(op1);