Hi all, I’d like to propose that we update our style to require that the “override” keyword always be used when overriding virtual functions (including destructors). The proposed text is below. I’ll also prepare a clang-tidy patch to update stout, libprocess and mesos globally.
--- a/docs/c++-style-guide.md +++ b/docs/c++-style-guide.md @@ -647,3 +647,16 @@ Const expression constructors allow object initialization at compile time provid C++11 does not provide `constexpr string` or `constexpr` containers in the STL and hence `constexpr` cannot be used for any class using stout's Error() class. * `enum class`. + +* `override`. + +When overriding a virtual member function, the `override` keyword should always be used. The [Google C++ Style Guide](https://google.github.io/styleguide/cppguide.html#Inheritance) supplies the rationale for this: + +<blockquote> +A function or destructor marked override or final that is not an +override of a base class virtual function will not compile, and +this helps catch common errors. The specifiers serve as documentation; +if no specifier is present, the reader has to check all ancestors +of the class in question to determine if the function or destructor +is virtual or not. +</blockquote> thanks, James
