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c++argumentsthisdefault-valuethis-pointer

Not possible: this pointer as a default argument. Why?


The following code won't compile. Why?

class A
{
   int j;
   void f( int i = this->j );
}

Edit, for clarity. This is what I was trying to do, using less lines of code...

class A
{
   void f( int i ){};
   void f( );
   int j;
};

void A::f()
{
    f( j );
}

Solution

  • Default argument values are bound at compile time.

    "this" is only defined at run time, so can't be used.

    See here for a fuller explanation: Must default function parameters be constant in C++?