C++ same function parameters with different return type

Question

I need to find some way to mock an overload of a function return type in C++.

I know that there isn\'t a way to do that directly, but I\'m hoping there\'s some out-o

Answer 1

As an alternative to the template solution, you can have the function return a reference or a pointer to a class, then create subclasses of that class to contain the different data types that you'd like to return. RetrieveValue would then return a reference to the appropriate subclass.

That would then let the user pass the returned object to other functions without knowing which subclass it belonged to.

The problem in this case would then become one of memory management -- choosing which function allocates the returned object and which function deletes it, and when, in such a way that we avoid memory leaks.