Question

Is there any advantage over using a class over a struct in cases such as these? (note: it will only hold variables, there will never be functions)

class Foo {  private:       struct Pos { int x, y, z }; public:        Pos Position;  }; 

Versus:

struct Foo {    struct Pos { int x, y, z } Pos; }; 

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Similar questions:

• When should you use a class vs a struct in C++?
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• When should I use a struct instead of a class?

Answer 1

There is no real advantage of using one over the other, in c++, the only difference between a struct and a class is the default visibility of it’s members (structs default to public, classes default to private).

Personally, I tend to prefer structs for POD types and use classes for everything else.

EDIT: litb made a good point in the comment so I’m going to quote him here:

one important other difference is that structs derive from other classes/struct public by default, while classes derive privately by default.