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reinterpret_cast Operator

Allows any pointer to be converted into any other pointer type. Also allows any integral type to be converted into any pointer type and vice versa.

Syntax

reinterpret_cast < type-id > ( expression )

Remarks

Misuse of the reinterpret_cast operator can easily be unsafe. Unless the desired conversion is inherently low-level, you should use one of the other cast operators.

The reinterpret_cast operator can be used for conversions such as char* to int*, or One_class* to Unrelated_class*, which are inherently unsafe.

The result of a reinterpret_cast cannot safely be used for anything other than being cast back to its original type. Other uses are, at best, nonportable.

The reinterpret_cast operator cannot cast away the const, volatile, or __unaligned attributes. See const_cast Operator for information on removing these attributes.

The reinterpret_cast operator converts a null pointer value to the null pointer value of the destination type.

One practical use of reinterpret_cast is in a hash function, which maps a value to an index in such a way that two distinct values rarely end up with the same index.

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

// Returns a hash code based on an address
unsigned short Hash( void *p ) {
   unsigned int val = reinterpret_cast<unsigned int>( p );
   return ( unsigned short )( val ^ (val >> 16));
}

using namespace std;
int main() {
   int a[20];
   for ( int i = 0; i < 20; i++ )
      cout << Hash( a + i ) << endl;
}

Output:
64641
64645
64889
64893
64881
64885
64873
64877
64865
64869
64857
64861
64849
64853
64841
64845
64833
64837
64825
64829

The reinterpret_cast allows the pointer to be treated as an integral type. The result is then bit-shifted and XORed with itself to produce a unique index (unique to a high degree of probability). The index is then truncated by a standard C-style cast to the return type of the function.

See also

Casting Operators
Keywords