Returning multidimensional array from function

Question

How do I return a multidimensional array stored in a private field of my class?

class Myclass {
private:
   int myarray[5][5];
public:
   int **         


        

Answer 1

I managed to make this function work in C++0x using automatic type deduction. However, I can't make it work without that. Native C arrays are not supported very well in C++ - their syntax is exceedingly hideous. You should use a wrapper class.

template class TwoDimensionalArray {
    T data[firstdim][seconddim];
public:
    T*& operator[](int index) {
        return data[index];
    }
    const T*& operator[](int index) const {
        return data[index];
    }
};
class Myclass {
public:
    typedef TwoDimensionalArray arraytype;
private:
    arraytype myarray;
public:
    arraytype& get_array() {
        return myarray;
    }
};

int main(int argc, char **argv) {
    Myclass m;
    Myclass::arraytype& var = m.get_array();
    int& someint = var[0][0];
}

This code compiles just fine. You can get pre-written wrapper class inside Boost (boost::array) that supports the whole shebang.