Thread: A Static_cast<> Question

Suppose

Code:

class Derived: public Base{
...
};

what is the difference between:

Code:

Derived * d = new Derived;
Base* b = static_cast<Base*>(d);

AND

Code:

Derived  d ;
Base b = static_cast<Base>(d);

Polymorphic relationships don't hold for actual objects.

That is:

A Derived* is a Base*
A Derived& is a Base&

But a Derived is NOT a Base. Such a conversion results in slicing, and you lose pieces of your objects.