c++ - Iterating over different types

Question

Given the following code:

struct Window{
    void show();
    //stuff
}w1, w2, w3;

struct Widget{
    void show();
    //stuff
}w4, w5, w6;

struct Toolbar{
    void show();
    //stuff
}t1, t2, t3;

I want to show a bunch of items:

for (auto &obj : {w3, w4, w5, t1})
    obj.show();

However this does not compile since the std::initializer_list<T> in the for-loop cannot deduce T and in fact there is not really a T that would fit. I don't want to create a type erasure type because of the amount of code required and the unnecessary runtime overhead. How do I correctly write my loop so that the type of obj is deduced for every item in the conceptual list separately?

Answer 1

In C++17 or better you'd use fold expressions, to "walk through" your heterogenous arguments applying the member function:

auto Printer = [](auto&&... args) {
    (args.show(), ...);
};

Printer(w1, w2, w3, w4, w5, w6, t1, t2, t3);

Demo

You can read more on this in my blog