RTTI vs Custom Type Identification

1#include <iostream>
2#include <typeinfo>
3
4class Monster {
5 public:
6  virtual ~Monster() {}
7};
8
9class Dragon : public Monster {};
10
11void useRTTI(Monster* m) {
12  if (typeid(*m) == typeid(Dragon)) {
13    std::cout << "It's a Dragon!\n";
14  }
15}
16
17// Custom type identification
18enum class MonsterType { Base, Dragon };
19
20class CustomMonster {
21 public:
22  virtual MonsterType getType() const {
23    return MonsterType::Base;
24  }
25};
26
27class CustomDragon : public CustomMonster {
28 public:
29  MonsterType getType() const override {
30    return MonsterType::Dragon;
31  }
32};
33
34void useCustom(CustomMonster* m) {
35  if (m->getType() == MonsterType::Dragon) {
36    std::cout << "It's a CustomDragon!\n";
37  }
38}
39
40int main() {
41  // Using RTTI
42  Monster* m1 = new Monster();
43  Monster* d1 = new Dragon();
44
45  std::cout << "Using RTTI:\n";
46  useRTTI(m1); // Should not print anything
47  useRTTI(d1); // Should print "It's a Dragon!"
48
49  // Using Custom Type Identification
50  CustomMonster* m2 = new CustomMonster();
51  CustomMonster* d2 = new CustomDragon();
52
53  std::cout << "Using Custom Type Identification:\n";
54
55  // Should not print anything
56  useCustom(m2);
57
58  // Should print "It's a CustomDragon!"
59  useCustom(d2);
60
61  // Clean up
62  delete m1;
63  delete d1;
64  delete m2;
65  delete d2;
66}