How to create an array of parameterized objects in C++?

 class book{
private:
    int numOfPages;
public:
    book(int i){
    numOfPages = i;
    };
};

class library{
private:
    book * arrOfBooks;
public:
    library(int x, int y){
        arrOfBooks = new book[x](y);
    };
};
int main()
{
  library(2, 4); 
};

With the example code above I would like to create a library of books that all have the same number of pages. So in the constructor of the library object, whenever a new book is created to be placed in the array I pass the argument in the parenthesis. The above code when tested in C++ shell shows error: "parenthesized initializer in array new". This is for the completion of a school project and no vectors are allowed (as it would be wise to do as I found doing my research) though I cannot think of any other ways to do it than the one shown above...

Solution

There is no syntax for initializing elements of a dynamic array using a non-default constructor.

You have to create the array first, then loop over the elements and assign each individually. Possibly the simplest way to do that is to use std::fill.