what i learned is there are 4 different types of casting:

Dynamic casting:

• Used for casting pointers or references in class hierarchies.
• In non-polymorphic classes, it can only perform up-casting (derived → base).

In polymorphic classes (classes with at least one virtual function), it can also perform down-casting (base → derived) and cross-casting (between siblings), safely at runtime using RTTI (Run-Time Type Information) stored in the v table.

Static casting:

• Used with pointers and references, built-in types, built-in → user-defined, and user-defined → user-defined (if a constructor or conversion operator exists, possibly via built-in types).
• Performs compile-time casts; no runtime type check. The compiler usually ensures the cast is valid where possible.

Reinterpret casting:

• Reinterprets the raw memory of an object as another type.
• Unsafe, low-level, and rarely useful in typical C++ programs.
• Should only be used for system programming, serialization, or pointer-integer tricks.

Constant casting:

• Used to add or remove constant or volatile qualifiers from a pointer or reference.
• Works with any type (built-in or user-defined).

Common use cases: