More Exceptional C++: 40 New Engineering Puzzles, Programming Problems, and Solutions

Difficulty: 6

Some languages, including the SQL99 standard, continue to struggle with the question of whether to support single or multiple inheritance. This Item invites you to consider the issues.

1. What is multiple inheritance (MI), and what extra possibilities or complications does allowing MI introduce into C++?

2. Is MI ever necessary? If yes, show as many situations as you can and argue why MI should be in a language. If no, argue why single inheritance (SI), possibly combined with Java-style interfaces, is equal or superior , and why MI should not be in a language.