constructor inside a method c++ - c++

Question

I have a constructor inside a method that I want to have access at all time
//ItemEditor.cpp
#include "ItemContainer.h"
void ItemEditor::CreateItem() {
ItemContainer* wornItems = new ItemContainer();
}
inside of my driver I call my method createItem();
//driver
int main(){
ItemEditor* createItem = new ItemEditor();
createItem->CreateItem();
}
afterwards I want to have access to backpack outside of the createItem
How can I accomplish that?

Answer 1

Make the item container a member variable so its scope is the life time of the object.
There is no reason to use dynamic allocation, so just use an instance of the ItemContainer instead of a pointer.
#include <iostream>
class ItemContainer {
int item = 0;
public:
void addItem(int i) {
item = i;
}
int getItem() {
return item;
}
};
class ItemEditor {
public:
ItemEditor() {
}
void createEditor() {
wornItems.addItem(3);
}
ItemContainer wornItems;
};
int main() {
ItemEditor editor;
int item = editor.wornItems.getItem(); //or some method
std::cout << item << std::endl;
editor.createEditor();
item = editor.wornItems.getItem(); //or some method
std::cout << item;
return 0;
}
You can also make the container private and use public methods to access its contents. You can see an example here

Answer 2

By backpack I assume whatever is returned by
createItem->CreateItem();
Why not just store it in a pointer since you used the new to allocate the object in a heap?
ItemContainer* ItemEditor::CreateItem() {
return new ItemContainer();
}
Main file:
int main(){
ItemEditor* createItem = new ItemEditor();
ItemContainer* backpack = createItem->CreateItem();
}
Also I want to suggest it is a better practice to provide a move semantic for ItemContainer and get rid of pointers. That way you are relying on RAII and stack for object destruction, less risk of memory-leak. Related article:
http://www.cprogramming.com/c++11/rvalue-references-and-move-semantics-in-c++11.html
Here is a full compiling code:
//Header.h
#include <iostream>
class ItemContainer{
public:
void sayHello(){
std::cout << "HulloWorld!\n";
}
};
class ItemEditor{
public:
ItemEditor(){};
ItemContainer* ItemEditor::CreateItem(){
return new ItemContainer();
}
};
MainFile:
//main
#include "Header.h"
int main()
{
ItemEditor* createItem = new ItemEditor();
ItemContainer* backpack = createItem->CreateItem();
backpack->sayHello();
}