I'll use the following (trivial) interface as an example: struct IObject { virtual ~IObject() {} virtual std::string GetName() const = 0; virtual void ChangeState() = 0; }; Logic dictates that GetName should be a const member function while ChangeState shouldn't. All code that I've seen so far doesn't follow this logic, though. That is, GetName in the example above wouldn't be marked as a const member function. Is this laziness/carelessness or is there a legitimate reason for this? What are the major cons of me forcing my clients to implement const member functions when they are logically called for?