Nested Class member function can't access function of enclosing class. Why?
- by Rahul
Please see the example code below:
class A
{
private:
class B
{
public:
foobar();
};
public:
foo();
bar();
};
Within class A & B implementation:
A::foo()
{
//do something
}
A::bar()
{
//some code
foo();
//more code
}
A::B::foobar()
{
//some code
foo(); //<<compiler doesn't like this
}
The compiler flags the call to foo() within the method foobar(). Earlier, I had foo() as private member function of class A but changed to public assuming that B's function can't see it. Of course, it didn't help. I am trying to re-use the functionality provided by A's method. Why doesn't the compiler allow this function call? As I see it, they are part of same enclosing class (A). I thought the accessibility issue for nested class meebers for enclosing class in C++ standards was resolved.
How can I achieve what I am trying to do without re-writing the same method (foo()) for B, which keeping B nested within A?
I am using VC++ compiler ver-9 (Visual Studio 2008). Thank you for your help.