When writing a class that has multiple constructors (which is most of them), having to specify default values for all members in each constructor results in redundant code. If you update the default value for a member, you need to touch each constructor.
It’s possible to give normal class member variables (those that don’t use the static keyword) a default initialization value directly:
#include <iostream>
class Rectangle
{
private:
double m_length{ 1.0 }; // m_length has a default value of 1.0
double m_width{ 1.0 }; // m_width has a default value of 1.0
public:
void print()
{
std::cout << "length: " << m_length << ", width: " << m_width << '\n';
}
};
int main()
{
Rectangle x{}; // x.m_length = 1.0, x.m_width = 1.0
x.print();
return 0;
}
This program produces the result:
length: 1.0, width: 1.0
Non-static member initialization (also called in-class member initializers) provides default values for your member variables that your constructors will use if the constructors do not provide initialization values for the members themselves (via the member initialization list).
However, note that constructors still determine what kind of objects may be created. Consider the following case:
#include <iostream>
class Rectangle
{
private:
double m_length{ 1.0 };
double m_width{ 1.0 };
public:
// note: No default constructor provided in this example
Rectangle(double length, double width)
: m_length{ length },
m_width{ width }
{
// m_length and m_width are initialized by the constructor (the default values aren't used)
}
void print()
{
std::cout << "length: " << m_length << ", width: " << m_width << '\n';
}
};
int main()
{
Rectangle x{}; // will not compile, no default constructor exists, even though members have default initialization values
return 0;
}
Even though we’ve provided default values for all members, no default constructor has been provided, so we are unable to create Rectangle objects with no arguments.
If a default initialization value is provided and the constructor initializes the member via the member initializer list, the member initializer list will take precedence. The following example shows this:
#include <iostream>
class Rectangle
{
private:
double m_length{ 1.0 };
double m_width{ 1.0 };
public:
Rectangle(double length, double width)
: m_length{ length },
m_width{ width }
{
// m_length and m_width are initialized by the constructor (the default values aren't used)
}
Rectangle(double length)
: m_length{ length }
{
// m_length is initialized by the constructor.
// m_width's default value (1.0) is used.
}
void print()
{
std::cout << "length: " << m_length << ", width: " << m_width << '\n';
}
};
int main()
{
Rectangle x{ 2.0, 3.0 };
x.print();
Rectangle y{ 4.0 };
y.print();
return 0;
}
This prints:
length: 2.0, width: 3.0 length: 4.0, width: 1.0
Note that initializing members using non-static member initialization requires using either an equals sign, or a brace (uniform) initializer -- the direct initialization form doesn’t work here.
Rule
Favor use of non-static member initialization to give default values for your member variables.
Quiz time
Question #1
Update the following program to use non-static member initialization and member initializer lists.
#include <string>
#include <iostream>
class Ball
{
private:
std::string m_color;
double m_radius;
public:
// Default constructor with no parameters
Ball()
{
m_color = "black";
m_radius = 10.0;
}
// Constructor with only color parameter (radius will use default value)
Ball(const std::string &color)
{
m_color = color;
m_radius = 10.0;
}
// Constructor with only radius parameter (color will use default value)
Ball(double radius)
{
m_color = "black";
m_radius = radius;
}
// Constructor with both color and radius parameters
Ball(const std::string &color, double radius)
{
m_color = color;
m_radius = radius;
}
void print()
{
std::cout << "color: " << m_color << ", radius: " << m_radius << '\n';
}
};
int main()
{
Ball def;
def.print();
Ball blue{ "blue" };
blue.print();
Ball twenty{ 20.0 };
twenty.print();
Ball blueTwenty{ "blue", 20.0 };
blueTwenty.print();
return 0;
}
This program should produce the result:
color: black, radius: 10 color: blue, radius: 10 color: black, radius: 20 color: blue, radius: 20
Question #2
Why don’t we need to declare a constructor with no parameters in the program above, even though we’re constructing def without arguments?
