Problem constructing a base class from within a subclass constructor - c++

Question

I have 2 classes. Since Doctor will be considered as Employee, I should be using Employee class functions in Doctor class. Only extra thing that Doctor class has is TITLE. Basically, What I tried is I wanted to send value to Doctor's constructor,set title then send remained value to Employee's class ;however, I could not. This is what I have done so far,
employee.h
#ifndef EMPLOYEE_H
#define EMPLOYEE_H
class Employee {
private:
int ID;
char *firstname;
char *lastname;
int telno;
char *adress;
char *mail;
int salary;
public:
Employee();
Employee(int,char *,char*,int,char*,char*,int);
char* getfmame();
char* getlname();
char* getadress();
char* getmail();
int getID();
int gettel();
int getsalary();
void printall();
};
#endif
Employee.cpp
#include <iostream>
#include "employee.h"
using namespace std;
Employee::Employee() {
firstname = "Empty";
ID=0;
firstname="Empty";
lastname="Empty";
telno=0;
adress="Empty";
mail="Empty";
salary=0;
}
Employee::Employee(int id,char * first,char* last,int tell,char* adres,char* email,int salar){
ID=id;
firstname=first;
lastname=last;
telno=tell;
adress=adres;
mail=email;
salary=salar;
}
char* Employee::getfmame(){ return firstname; }
char* Employee::getlname(){ return lastname; }
char* Employee::getadress(){ return adress; }
char* Employee::getmail(){ return mail; }
int Employee::getID(){ return ID; }
int Employee::gettel(){ return telno; }
int Employee::getsalary(){ return salary; }
void Employee::printall(){
cout<<endl<<"EMLOYEE INFORMATION"<<endl<<"------------------"<<endl;
cout<<endl<<"ID :"<<ID<<endl<<"FIRST NAME: "<< firstname <<endl<<"LAST NAME: "<< lastname << endl << "TELEPHONE NUMBER: "<<telno<<endl<<"ADRESS: "<<adress<<endl<<"MAIL: "<<mail<<endl<<"SALARY: "<<salary<<endl;
}
Doctor.h
#ifndef DOCTOR_H
#define DOCTOR_H
#include "Employee.h"
using namespace std;
class Doctor :Employee {
public:
enum title {Intern=0,Practitioner=1,Assistant=2,Specialist=3,Docent=4,Professor=5,None=6};
Doctor();
Doctor(title a,int id,char * first,char* last,int tell,char* adres,char* email,int salar);
};
#endif
Doctor.cpp
#include <iostream>
#include "Doctor.h"
#include "Employee.h"
using namespace std;
Doctor::Doctor() {
title tit = None ;
}
Doctor::Doctor(title a,int id,char * first,char* last,int tell,char* adres,char* email,int salar) {
title tit=a;
Employee(id,first,last, tell,adres,email,salar);
printall();
cout<<"typed";
}
Main.cpp
#include <iostream>
#include "employee.h"
#include "doctor.h"
using namespace std;
int main(){
Doctor a=Doctor(Doctor::None,12,"a","b",0550550505,"8424 str nu:5","#hotmail",5000);
return 0;
}

Answer 1

Subclass construction in C++ works so that the base class object must be constructed when the subclass' constructor body is executed:
class A {
/* etc. etc. */
public:
void do_stuff();
};
class B : public A {
B() {
// at this point, an A has already been constructed!
A::do_stuff();
}
};
Note that in this example, since we haven't chosen an explicit constructor for the A instance, the default constructor, A::A(), will be used; and if that constructor is unavailable - we get a compilation error. The fact that a constructor for A has been called is what allows us to then use methods of class A - like A::do_stuff() in the example above.
But - how can we specify a different constructor before the body of the B constructor? Or in your case, how can we use the appropriate constructor for Employee before the body of the Doctor constructor?
The answer was suggested by #user4581301: You need to use an member initializer list. Initializations/constructions on this list are performed before the body, and may include the underlying class. I'll demonstrate with a simplified example. Let's suppose an Employee only has an id and a Doctor only has an additional title.
class Employee {
protected:
int id_;
public:
Employee(int id) : id_(id) { };
int id() const { return id_; }
};
class Doctor : public Employee {
protected:
std::string title_;
public:
Doctor(int id, std::string title) : Employee(id), title_(title) { };
const std::string& title() const { return title_; }
};
So, when a Doctor is being constructed, it constructs its underlying Employee instance using the id it got. The constructor body is used for more complex code beyond simple member initializations.
PS:
You might want to initialize the title_ member with std::move(title) rather than just title, see this question for details.
It's confusing when a constructor has more than two or three parameters with compatible types - users are likely to confuse them with each other. You might consider default values for most fields and setting them after construction, or alternatively, using a builder pattern.
address, with two d's, not adress.
Unless you plan on editing char* fields in-place, use const char *.
They way you've written your classes, Doctor methods would not have write acesss to Employee methods; make sure that's what you intended.
I have some other nitpicks but I'll stop now...