c++ function returning a custom class array gives an error

Question

I have a class:

class cAsset{
  public:
     void data(int);
     int returnInfo(void);
}

and a function which is suppose to return an array of cAssets

cAsset[] myFunc(int a, int b){
   ...
}

The error is:

Expected member name or ';' after declaration specifiers

What am i missing?

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9995564/function-with-return-type-array-in-c — SomeWittyUsername, Nov 06 '12 at 20:16
So let's [point him at one](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/388242/the-definitive-c-book-guide-and-list), @LightnessRacesinOrbit. — Robᵩ, Nov 06 '12 at 20:21
@Robᵩ: Yes, let's! Perhaps it'll be [better than the one](http://jcatki.no-ip.org/fncpp/Resources) he's of course already reading before asking questions on the internet... — Lightness Races in Orbit, Nov 06 '12 at 20:31

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 06 '12 at 20:15

5

You cannot return arrays in C++. Try returning a std::vector<cAsset> instead.

std::vector<cAsset> myFunc(int a, int b){
  std::vector<cAsset> result;
  result.push_back(cAsset(4,2));
  result.push_back(cAsset(a,b));
  return result;
}

answered Nov 06 '12 at 20:15

Robᵩ

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interesting. Is there any reason why? I mean, i thought you can declare arrays, or is it just because a vector accepts a generic class? – Fallenreaper Nov 06 '12 at 20:17
1

You can declare arrays. You just can't assign to/from them, nor return them from a function. As to "why" : arrays and pointers work the way they did in C, that is, efficiently and non-intuitively. – Robᵩ Nov 06 '12 at 20:19
ahh, ok. Good to know. Thanks for the help @Rob. I was wondering why this occurred. – Fallenreaper Nov 06 '12 at 20:20
Another option, in C++11 is `std::array`, where N is a compile-time known constant. – Dave S Nov 06 '12 at 21:24

c++ function returning a custom class array gives an error

1 Answers1