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I'm not sure new programmers need to worry about how virtual function inheritance is implemented via the viable. Are there even standards for that? Or is that an implementation detail which seems popular across multiple compilers?

There's time for them to learn the details, but just learning that the functionality exists and knowing how to use it is a good start.

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The point isn't to learn it as if it's something you'll have to recreate--it's to understand that "advanced" language features are built on top of the "fundamental" structural model and are not magic. You need some understanding of how programming languages are built in order to keep languages and libraries honest. Otherwise learning about type/object systems becomes learning all the pitfalls and incidental complexities caused by the design as if they're benefits and not costs.

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