Check if ostream object is cout or ofstream, c++

Question

Is there a way in C++ to check if an ostream object is cout or a ofstream object?

Something like:

ostream& ou         


        

Answer 1

It's possible by checking the stream's 'identity': if ( &out == &cout ) ....

However, I'm in doubt on the usefullness of this test. If your function can handle any output stream, why bother about what stream it is using?