Question

Consider the following code:

class Foo {
    Foo() {}
};

class Bar {
    Foo &Foo_ref;
    Bar() : Foo_ref() {}
};

Complied as is, I get the error:

tmp.cc: In constructor Bar::Bar():
tmp.cc:7: error: value-initialization of Foo& Bar::Foo_ref, which has reference type

I’ve tried every variation I can think of. What am I doing wrong? How do I initialize a reference member to a new instance?
I’m using a const pointer instead of a reference as a workaround for now, but I’d prefer to use a reference.

Answer 1

What’s wrong with

class Bar
{
    Foo myFoo;
    Bar() : myFoo() {}
};

if you want a brand-new Foo object?