34. C++ way of conversions between types

• Consider:

  • int* ptr = (int*) x;

• C++ inherited (type)x -style conversion from C.

• The above declaration of ptr can be quite dangerous, because:

  1. it is hard to spot or find in a large program;

  2. the kind of converison is not explicit: the types could be

     • related (x is also a pointer type),

     • unrelated (x is not a pointer);

  3. it can be portable;

  4. it can be non-portable.

• Is there a better way of casting?