How Can I Elegantly Handle Duplicate Getters in C ?

Addressing Duplicated Getters with Elegance

Encounters with redundant getter methods for duplicate, const, and non-const variables can be frustrating. Consider the example:

class Foobar {
public:
    Something& getSomething(int index);
    const Something& getSomething(int index) const;
};

Implementing either method with the other is impossible due to the inability to invoke the non-const version from the const method. A cast is necessary to call the const version from the non-const one.

A Practical Solution

While there is no perfect solution, one pragmatic approach is to implement the non-const version by casting away the const from the const version. Despite its simplicity, this method ensures safety. Since the calling member function is non-const, the object is also non-const, allowing the cast to be performed.

class Foo {
public:
    const int& get() const {
        // Non-trivial work
        return foo;
    }

    int& get() {
        return const_cast<int&>(const_cast<const Foo*>(this)->get());
    }

private:
    int foo;
};

By utilizing this approach, you can eliminate the need for duplicated getter methods and maintain the safety of your code.

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