C++ Visitor Pattern Example

In this article, we will learn how to use and implement the Visitor Pattern in C++ with an example.

Visitor is a behavioral design pattern that lets you separate algorithms from the objects on which they operate.
The visitor pattern represents an operation to be performed on the elements of an object structure. It lets you define a new operation without changing the classes of the elements on which it operates. The pattern has a behavioral purpose and applies to the objects.

C++ Visitor Pattern Example

#include <iostream>

class Element;
class ConcreteElementA;
class ConcreteElementB;

/*
 * Visitor
 * declares a Visit operation for each class of ConcreteElement
 * in the object structure
 */
class Visitor
{
public:
    virtual ~Visitor() {}

    virtual void visitElementA( ConcreteElementA* const element ) = 0;
    virtual void visitElementB( ConcreteElementB* const element ) = 0;
};

/*
 * Concrete Visitors
 * implement each operation declared by Visitor, which implement
 * a fragment of the algorithm defined for the corresponding class
 * of object in the structure
 */
class ConcreteVisitor1 : public Visitor
{
public:
    ~ConcreteVisitor1() {}

    void visitElementA( ConcreteElementA* const )
    {
        std::cout << "Concrete Visitor 1: Element A visited." << std::endl;
    }

    void visitElementB( ConcreteElementB* const )
    {
        std::cout << "Concrete Visitor 1: Element B visited." << std::endl;
    }
};

class ConcreteVisitor2 : public Visitor
{
public:
    ~ConcreteVisitor2() {}

    void visitElementA( ConcreteElementA* const )
    {
        std::cout << "Concrete Visitor 2: Element A visited." << std::endl;
    }

    void visitElementB( ConcreteElementB* const )
    {
        std::cout << "Concrete Visitor 2: Element B visited." << std::endl;
    }
};

/*
 * Element
 * defines an accept operation that takes a visitor as an argument
 */
class Element
{
public:
    virtual ~Element() {}

    virtual void accept( Visitor &visitor ) = 0;
};

/*
 * Concrete Elements
 * implement an accept operation that takes a visitor as an argument
 */
class ConcreteElementA : public Element
{
public:
    ~ConcreteElementA() {}

    void accept( Visitor &visitor )
    {
        visitor.visitElementA( this );
    }
};

class ConcreteElementB : public Element
{
public:
    ~ConcreteElementB() {}

    void accept( Visitor &visitor )
    {
        visitor.visitElementB( this );
    }
};


int main()
{
    ConcreteElementA elementA;
    ConcreteElementB elementB;

    ConcreteVisitor1 visitor1;
    ConcreteVisitor2 visitor2;

    elementA.accept(visitor1);
    elementA.accept(visitor2);

    elementB.accept(visitor1);
    elementB.accept(visitor2);

    return 0;
}

Output

Concrete Visitor 1: Element A visited.
Concrete Visitor 2: Element A visited.
Concrete Visitor 1: Element B visited.
Concrete Visitor 2: Element B visited.

When to use?

  • an object structure contains many classes of objects with differing interfaces, and you want to perform operations on these objects that depend on their concrete classes
  • many distinct and unrelated operations need to be performed on objects in an object structure, and you want to avoid "polluting" their classes with these operations
  • the classes defining the object structure rarely change, but you often want to define new operations over the structure



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