c++ virtual deconstructor

 you can have virtual destructors, and the only reason is to override them in derived classes.

It looks like this:

class Parent {
public:
    virtual ~Parent();
};

class Child : public Parent {
public:
    virtual ~Child();
};

class Grandchild : public Child {
public:
    ~Grandchild(); // virtual is inherited here
};

Note that the destructor isn't overridden by name like ordinary functions, because the name is always that of the class whose instance you're destroying.

Note also that the parent class' destructors are always called too, so you don't need to duplicate their cleanup code: read up on member object and base-class sub-object construction and destruction order for the details.

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Terminology

• overriding a function means implementing a base-class virtual function in a derived class. You can't change the signature at all (except for using covariant return types). So, an override is always has the same signature as an inherited virtual function.
• overloading a function means implementing multiple functions with the same name (and in some sense the same scope). So, an overload always has a different signature to the others with the same name, doesn't relate directly to virtual dispatch, and isn't necessarily inherited.