How to implement an interface class using the non-virtual interface idiom in C++?

Question

In C++ an interface can be implemented by a class whose methods are pure virtual.

Such a class could be part of a library to describe what methods an object should

Answer 1

You could use the pimpl-idiom to achieve this:

class IFoo
{
    public:
        IFoo( boost::shared_ptr< IFooImpl > pImpl )
            : m_pImpl( pImpl )
        {}

        void method() { m_pImpl->method(); }
        void otherMethod() { m_pImpl->otherMethod(); }
    private:
        boost::shared_ptr< IFooImpl > m_pImpl;
};

class IFooImpl
{
    public:
        void method();
        virtual void otherMethod();
};

Now others can still subclass IFooImpl and pass it to IFoo, but they cannot override the behavior of method (they can override otherMethod). You can even make IFooImpl a direct subclass of IFoo and use enable_shared_from_this to initialize IFoo correctly. This is just the gist of the method. There are many ways to tweak this approach. For instance you can use the factory-pattern to make sure IFoos are created correctly.

Hope that helps.