does not name a type

Question

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Resolve circular dependencies in c++
What is forward declaration in c++?

I have two classes A and B. I need to have a field in each which is a pointer to an object of the other class. I get "does not name a type" since the definition of the class is yet to appear. For example:

class A{
   B* b;
}
class B{
   A* a;
}

gets me "B "does not name a type" at the second line.

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:48

3

Use forward declarations:

class B;

class A {
  B* b;
};

class B {
  A* a;
};

This way you're telling the compiler that B is going to be declared later on and that it should not worry. See this for more info: Forward declaration

edited May 23 '17 at 11:48

Community

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answered Dec 26 '12 at 14:36

Adri C.S.

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score 1 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:18

1

Forward declarations is key to you question , here is the link

What is forward declaration in c++?

edited May 23 '17 at 12:18

Community

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answered Dec 26 '12 at 14:36

Paritosh

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does not name a type

2 Answers2