Thread: changing return type of derived function

Hi,
I am writing a code and got a problem with deriving the class.
I have got a class A (with pure virtual functions) which got a (pure virtual) function operator[].
also I got classes B and C which inherits A.
if B is a class which is a vector of complex numbers and C is a bitArray than what should operator[] return.
in the situation of B it should return a reference to complex number.
In the case of C it should return a proxy class which holds the bit.

thus, how can i define operator[] in A so both B and C can overwrite the operator[].
It is important that everyone who uses A knows that it supports operator[].

thanks in advance.

can't i say that i just returning a reference to 'no matter what'?
like a reference to Object in Java.
something like void& (i just don't know if void& exists). ?
thanks.

You could return a void* pointer instead of a reference, but I'd highly recommend against doing that since you'd lose all type safety by doing that.