Question

I have a class Message that has a std::string as a data member, defined like this:

class Message
{
// Member Variables
    private:
        std::string text;
        (...)

// Member Functions
    public:
        Message(const std::string& t)
        : text(t) {}

        std::string getText() const {return text;}
        (...)
};

This class is used in a vector in another class, like this:

class Console
{
// Member Variables
    private:
        std::vector<Message> messageLog;
        (...)

// Member Functions
    public:
        Console()
        {
            messageLog.push_back(Message("Hello World!"));
        }

        void draw() const;
};

In draw(), there’s an iterator that calls getText(). When it does, the program segfaults. I’ve determined that text is valid inside the Message constructor. However, I can’t tell if it’s valid from inside Console. I’m assuming it is, but if I try to inspect indices of Console‘s messageLog, gdb tells me this:

(gdb) p messageLog[0]
One of the arguments you tried to pass to operator[] could not be converted to what
the function wants.

Anyone know what’s going on?

EDIT: here’s draw(). TCODConsole is part of a curses library I’m using, and so this function prints each message in Console to a part of the curses screen. TL and BR are Point member objects (two ints) that tell where on the screen to draw Console. I left out parts of Message and Console in the original question to hopefully make things clearer, but if you need me to post the entire classes then I can. They aren’t too long.

void Console::draw() const
        {
            int x = TL.getX(), y = TL.getY();
            int width = BR.getX() - TL.getX();
            int height = BR.getY() - TL.getY();

            // draw the Console frame
            TCODConsole::root->printFrame(x, y, width, height, true);

            // print the Console's messages
            vector<Message>::const_iterator it;
            for(it=messageLog.begin(); it<messageLog.begin()+height-1; ++it)
            {
                string message = "%c" + it->getText();
                TCODConsole::setColorControl(TCOD_COLCTRL_1, 
                                             it->getForeColor(),
                                             it->getBackColor());
                y += TCODConsole::root->printRectEx(x, y, width, height,
                                                    TCOD_BKGND_NONE,
                                                    TCOD_LEFT,
                                                    message.c_str(),
                                                    TCOD_COLCTRL_1);
            }
        }

Answer 1

My guess is that by the point you use it->getText(), the iterator is NULL. Add a check it != messageLog.end() when you walk the array, and before calling it->getText().