Here’s a pitfall I wandered into earlier: virtual default values are not inherited from a base class! You’ll need to specify the default value again in the inherited class.
Since both our base class and default class can have default values, that leads to the next question – how do I know which default value will be used?
Whether the base class or derived class default value is used depends on the static type of the function call. What that means in plain English: If your function is called through a base class object/pointer/reference, you will use the default value in the base class. If you call through the derived class object/pointer/reference, you will use the derived default value.
From the C++ Standard
8.3.6.10:
A virtual function call (10.3) uses the default arguments in the declaration of the virtual function determined by the static type of the pointer or reference denoting the object. An overriding function in a derived class does not acquire default arguments from the function it overrides.
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