Can you return a function in C++?

Question

I know that you can pass functions as arguments through function pointers. Is it also possible to use those function pointers to make a function return another function?

Answer 1

Seems to be possible. I found this on Stackoverflow:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int f1() {
return 1;
}

int f2() {
return 2;
}

typedef int (*fptr)();

fptr f( char c ) {
if ( c == '1' ) {
return f1;
}
else {
return f2;
}
}

int main() {
char c = '1';
fptr fp = f( c );
cout << fp() << endl;
}

Answer 2

Alternatively, you can use std::function from <functional> which provides a wrapper over function pointers for storing and operating on functions.

en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/utility/functional/function

Using std::function, you can perform assignments and other operations on functions as if they were normal types like int or char. std::function objects can hold lambdas and functors as well.

https://code.sololearn.com/cwB1e1M1N591/?ref=app

The code can be easily modified for operating on generic functions.

https://code.sololearn.com/cQkRHFve9syw/?ref=app

Answer 3

I found another answer where you can use the keyword "using" instead of "typedef":

https://www.sololearn.com/Discuss/1813394/?ref=app