What is object slicing in C++?

#include <iostream>

struct Base {
    virtual const char* who() const { return "Base"; }
};
struct Derived : Base {
    int extra = 42;
    const char* who() const override { return "Derived"; }
};

int main() {
    Derived d;
    Base sliced = d;                    // copies only the Base part
    const Base& ref = d;                // no copy
    std::cout << sliced.who() << ' ' << ref.who() << '\n';
}

Pass polymorphic objects by reference, pointer or smart pointer, and store pointers in containers (std::vector<std::unique_ptr<Base>>), not objects. See Polymorphism.

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