How to create copy constructor in C++/CX with class having properties

Question

I'm new to C++/CX. I want to create a Vector class with two properties X and Y.

In standard C++, the copy constructor is:

Vector(const Vector& v);

I translate that to C++/CX as:

Vector(const Vector^ v);

Here's the class:

Header:

ref class Vector
{
public:
    Vector();
    Vector(const Vector^ v);

    property double X;
    property double Y;
};

Implementation:

Vector::Vector()
{
    X = 0;
    Y = 0;
}

Vector::Vector(const Vector^ v)
{
    this->X = v->X;
    this->Y = v->Y;
}

But I got an error when assigning v->X to this->X as: no instance of function "Vector::X::get" matches the argument list and object (the object as type qualifiers that prevent a match).

How to implement the copy constructor correctly?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Your problem is not directly related to copy-constructors. When I compile your code, I get the following error:

'Vector::X::get' : cannot convert 'this' pointer from 'const Vector' to 'Vector %'

This shows that the problem is with const-ness, see for example this question and its accepted answer.

It seems like the problem is that for trivial properties, the get accessor is not declared const. Because of that, you can't access the property on a const Vector^.

I think a solution would be not to use trivial properties, but implement both accessors yourself, making the get accessor const:

private:
    double x;
    double y;
public:
    property double X
    {
        double get() const { return x; }
        void set(double value) { x = value; }
    }

    property double Y
    {
        double get() const { return y; }
        void set(double value) { y = value; }
    }

The problem with this approach is that you can't have const methods in WinRT types (which, I assume, is why get accessors are not const in trivial properties). So, if you changed your type to public ref class, you would get this error:

'get': 'const' and 'volatile' qualifiers on member functions of WinRT types are not supported

Because of that, I think your best option is to not use const in your copy constructor:

Vector::Vector(Vector^ v)
{
    this->X = v->X;
    this->Y = v->Y;
}

Although I'm not sure why would you even need a copy constructor for ref class, since you always use it as a reference.