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I was going through some code and I found something like this: 

class GarbageCollectorProcess : public process::Process<GarbageCollectorProcess>

I was wondering if this was a valid thing to do. If yes, shouldn't this lead to some kind of a self definition loop because we are defining a GarbageCollectorProcess using another class that depends on the definition of GarbageCollectorProcess?

ibp73
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2 Answers2

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"I was wondering if this was a valid thing to do."

Yes this is valid, and also a very common pattern called Curiously Recurring Template Pattern, or short CRTP.

It's used to implement static polymorphism for instance.

"If yes, shouldn't this lead to some kind of a self definition loop because we are defining a GarbageCollectorProcess using another class that depends on the definition of GarbageCollectorProcess?"

No, there's no self definition loop. The template class is instantiated just once.

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It's valid thing to do. This is how CRTP working.

ForEveR
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