Virtual functions and performance - C++
c++, optimization, performance, virtual-functions
Solution
A good rule of thumb is:
It's not a performance problem until you can prove it.
The use of virtual functions will have a very slight effect on performance, but it's unlikely to affect the overall performance of your application. Better places to look for performance improvements are in algorithms and I/O.
An excellent article that talks about virtual functions (and more) is Member Function Pointers and the Fastest Possible C++ Delegates.
Problem
In my class design, I use abstract classes and virtual functions extensively. I had a feeling that virtual functions affects the performance. Is this true? But I think this performance difference is not noticeable and looks like I am doing premature optimization. Right?