Why “pointers” is being discussed
The most recent Hacker News stories and comments contributing to this topic's mentions.
> you can choose at use site This is possible in C++ too, but it may require extra work. But is it really needed that often to use both kinds of polymorphism for the same type?…
by Panzerschrek · Sep 6, 2026
I once faced a tricky bug involving fat pointers (containing virtual tables) in Rust. Two such pointers may be distinct, even if they reference to the same object, because (for…
by Panzerschrek · Sep 6, 2026
Everything. The issue is that the compiler won't even bother with polymorphism through a vtable for a polymorphic type (one with a vtable), unless the object is accessed through…
by mpyne · Sep 6, 2026
> whereas a Rust object only has identity if it has a non-zero size. Rust also has the complication that function pointers are not guaranteed to have an unique identity; If mult…
by phire · Sep 6, 2026
Polymorphism in C++ can only be correct on pointers and references (which are pointers internally). Stack-allocated objects and polymorphism only combine if the object is initia…
by gmueckl · Sep 6, 2026
The aside about C++ seems a little confused too? > C++ doesn’t have this problem at all, since virtual dispatch always goes through pointers and return types are always pointers…
by loeg · Sep 5, 2026
Interest
Proportion of Hacker News items mentioning "pointers" over time.
Mentions
Total number of Hacker News items mentioning "pointers" over time.
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