C++ class friendship - c++

Question

I am writing code to access private members of a class through another friend class. The below code works
// Example program
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
class Foo
{
private:
int a;
protected:
public:
friend class Bar;
Foo(int x)
{
a = x ;
}
};
class Bar
{
private:
protected:
public:
int b;
Bar(Foo& f)
{
b = f.a;
cout << "f.a is " << f.a << endl;
}
};
int main()
{
Foo foo(5);
Bar bar(foo);
cout << "Value of variable b is " << bar.b << endl;
}
Above code works fine. However, if I want to access a private variable of Foo through a function in friend class Bar, I am unable to. See code below
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
class Foo
{
private:
int a;
protected:
public:
friend class Bar;
Foo(int x)
{
a = x ;
}
};
class Bar
{
private:
protected:
public:
int b;
Bar(Foo& f)
{
b = f.a;
}
void printvariable(void)
{
cout << "f.a is " << f.a << endl;
}
};
int main()
{
Foo foo(5);
Bar bar(foo);
cout << "Value of variable b is " << bar.b << endl;
}
I totally understand why execution fails on the
void printvariable(void)
{
cout << "f.a is " << f.a << endl;
}
function since f is not in scope for the function. However, since I am passing Foo f in the constructor for Bar b, I am hoping to write code that will allow me to access members in Foo without passing Foo f to the function printvariable() again.
What is the most efficient way to write this code?

Answer 1

You can keep the reference to f. The code should be:
class Bar
{
private:
protected:
public:
int b;
Foo& f_ref;
Bar(Foo& f)
:f_ref(f)
{
b = f.a;
}
void printvariable(void)
{
cout << "f.a is " << f_ref.a << endl;
}
};
TEST!

Answer 2

You can do it like this, but if I were you I'd write some getters, also – class friendship isn't really recommended.
class Bar {
public:
Foo& ref;
Bar(Foo& f)
: ref { f }
{ }
void printvariable() {
cout << "f.a is " << ref.a << endl;
}
};
Btw there's no reason to add void in brackets in C++, it lost its meaning from C and has no effect by now.

Answer 3

You are wrong in one point. You are indeed passing a reference to f in the ctor, but the constructor and whole class Bar does not remember a whole object of f. In your original code, the constructor only makes the Bar object remember the int a part of the object, so only that little bit is later accessible:
class Foo
{
...
friend class Bar;
...
};
class Bar
{
...
int b;
Bar(Foo& f)
{
b = f.a; // <=--- HERE
}
void printvariable(void)
{
cout << "f.a is " << b << endl; // <-- now it refers B
}
Please note how your ctor of Bar only reads f.a and stores it in b. From now on, the Bar object only remembers b and that's all. You can freely access the b in printvariable. However, it will not be the a-taken-from-f. It will be b, that was set to the same value as f.a during constructor. Since that point of time, b and f.a are totally separate. That's how value copying works.
To make Bar remember whole f, you have to, well, remember whole f:
class Bar
{
...
Foo wholeThing;
Bar(Foo& f)
{
wholeThing = f; // <=--- HERE
}
void printvariable(void)
{
cout << "f.a is " << wholeThing.a << endl;
}
However, again, there's a catch: now since wholeThing is of type Foo, the constructor will actually make a copy of that object during wholeThing=f. Just the same as it was when b=f.a, but now it remembers a copy of whole f.
Of course, it's only matter of type. You can store a reference instead of whole-Foo, but it needs a bit different initialization syntax:
class Bar
{
...
Foo& wholeThing;
Bar(Foo& f) :
wholeThing(f) // <=--- HERE
{
// <=--- empty
}
void printvariable(void)
{
cout << "f.a is " << wholeThing.a << endl;
}