Initialize array in constructor without using default constructor or assignment

Question

Consider:

struct A {

 A (int);

 A (const A &);
};

struct B {

 A foo [2];

 B (const A & x, const A & y)
 : foo {x, y} /* HERE IS THE PROBLEM          


        

Answer 1

Unfortunately, there really is no proper, clean way to do this. Consider it something of a language limitation that results from an awkward mixing of C++ constructors and C style arrays. The C++11 standard addresses this issue, but until then you'll have to settle for a workaround.

Since A has no default constructor, one possible work-around is to have an array of A* pointers, and then loop over the array and initialize each one with new. (Obviously, don't forget to delete each item in the array in B's destructor, or just use smart pointers.)