Default constructor

No it shouldn't. Any nested classes should have its own default constructor.

EDIT: Um, that was not what you were asking when I reread your post. I believe you can do what you are asking though.

[edited by - nervo on December 30, 2003 1:17:32 PM]

Constructors and Destructors are called like a stack. When you create an instance of a class that is derived from another class (or classes), then the Constructor of the base class is called first. Destructors are the opposite: The derived destructor is called first, and then the the base class destructor.

For example, say you had a class hierarchy like so:

Object -> Entity -> NPCEntity -> Monster

Given the following line of code:

Monster* badGuy = new Monster();

this is what would happen:
Object::Object();
Entity::Entity();
NPCEntity::NPCEntity();
Monster::Monster();

And given this line:

delete badGuy;

this is what would happen:
Monster::~Monster();
NPCEntity::~NPCEntity();
Entity::~Entity();
Object::~Object();

Hope that helped out.

---

daerid | Legends | Garage Games | Spirit | Hapy | Boost | Python | Google
"Doomed to crumble, unless we grow, and strengthen our communication" - Maynard James Keenan, Tool

Unless you specify otherwise in the constructor initialisation list, any constructor will call the default constructor for the base classes.

Derived::Derived() {};           // default Base constructor called
Derived::Derived(int, int) {};   // default Base constructor called
Derived::Derived() : Base(1000) {}; // Base(int) constructor called 

If Base itself derive from some other class, Base''s constructors decide how that other class gets constructed.

If I had the following class hierarchy: Object -> Entity -> Monster
If Entity's default constructor was Entity::Entity() : Object( 100 ), and Monster's constructor called Monster::Monster() : Object( 200 ), what would happen?

edit: Ah, after experimentation I see that you can't call Object( 200 ) from Monster's constructor.

[edited by - psykr on December 30, 2003 1:34:58 PM]

You would get a compile time error. Object is not an immediate base class of Monster.