[eigen] CRTP in eigen: using .derived()

[Dan Čermák <dan.cermak@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi folks,

I have a question concerning the CRTP base classes in eigen, for instance 
Eigen::MatrixBase. In most examples of generic functions in the documentation, 
I see something like this:

template <class Derived>
void do_smth(const Eigen::MatrixBase<Derived>& mat) {
	const double det = mat.derived().determinant();
}

My question is about the mat.derived(), is that necessary?

If I understood crtp correctly, than mat.determinant() should do exactly the 
same (provided the base class implements this function).

Are there advantages of using .derived() when constructing expressions?
I could imagine that it makes a difference whether one does e.g.:
	return mat.block(...);
or:
	return mat.derived().block(...);
as the types will be different, but I have no idea what the actual impact is.


Thanks in advance,

Dan