using forward declarations instead of void* C++

Is it possible to use a forward declarations instead of void* or the preference is to use typedef ?

I am using a Specific class in my API. for the clients who use it, the class is represented by void* so the clients would not need to use the header files.

void*

Which of these choices is better?

class A;
class b
{
A* simple;
};


or

typedef void* A;
class b
{
A simple;
};


1 Answer
1

You can definitely use something like:

class A;

class B {
A* the_a;
}


instead of

class B {
void* the_a;
}


in your C++ code, and the former is better code than the latter. However, don't be quick to use raw pointers unless you really need to.

Finally, I strongly recommend you avoid code like

typedef void* A_ptr;

class B {
A_ptr the_a;
}


since that is confusing and not useful.

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