Avoiding dynamic_cast/RTTI

Question

I was recently working on a piece of C++ code for a side project (the cpp-markdown library, for the curious), and ran into a coding question that I\'d like some opinions on.

Answer 1

#1 pollutes the class namespace and vtable for objects that don't need it. Ok when you have a handful of methods that will generally be implemented, but plain ugly when only needed for a single derived class.

#2 is just dynamic_cast<> in a polka-dot dress and lipstick. Doesn't make client code any simpler, and tangles up the entire hierarchy, requiring the base and each derived class to be semi-aware of every other derived class.

Just use dynamic_cast<>. That's what it's there for.