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c++templatesinheritancecompiler-errorsprivate-inheritance

C++ compiler error involving private inheritance

Could someone please explain the following compiler error to me:

struct B
{
};

template <typename T>
struct A : private T
{
};

struct C : public A<B>            
{                                                                             
    C(A<B>);   // ERROR HERE
};

The error at the indicated line is:

test.cpp:2:1: error: 'struct B B::B' is inaccessible
test.cpp:12:7: error: within this context

What exactly is inaccessible, and why?

Solution

  • Try A< ::B> or A<struct B>.

    Inside of C, unqualified references to B will pick up the so-called injected-class-name, it is brought in through the base class A. Since A inherits privately from B, the injected-class-name follows suit and will also be private, hence be inaccessible to C.

    Another day, another language quirk...