Difference between creating an array in constructor and declaration in c++

Question

While I was trying to create an array in c++ class, there arose a problem while using the constructor. Here is the code:

int stacksize = 100;
int* buffer;
int stackpointer[3]= {-1, -1, -1};
public:
threestack(int stacksize_u)
{
    int buffer_u[stacksize_u*3];
    this->buffer = buffer_u;
    this->stacksize = stacksize_u;
}
threestack()
{
    int buffer_u[(this->stacksize)*3];
    this->buffer = buffer_u;
}

This actually did not work. When I create the array in the declaration, however, it worked:

int stacksize = 100;
int buffer[300];
int stackpointer[3]= {-1, -1, -1};

Can anybody tell me what is wrong while I was using the constructor?

PSS: Here is the whole class and test program:

class threestack
{
    int stacksize = 100;
    int* buffer;
    int stackpointer[3]= {-1, -1, -1};
public:
    threestack(int stacksize_u)
    {
        int buffer_u[stacksize_u*3];
        this->buffer = buffer_u;
        this->stacksize = stacksize_u;
    }
    threestack()
    {
        int buffer_u[(this->stacksize)*3];
        this->buffer = buffer_u;
    }

    bool push(int stacknum, int value);
    bool pop(int stacknum);
    int peek(int stacknum);
    bool empty(int stacknum);
};

bool threestack::push(int stacknum, int value)
{
    if(stackpointer[stacknum-1]+1 >= stacksize)
    {
        cout<<"Plz do not try to push to a full stack"<<endl;
        //        printf("stackpointer = %d\n", stackpointer[stacknum-1]);
        return 0;
    }
    else
    {
        stackpointer[stacknum-1]++;
        buffer[stackpointer[stacknum-1]+(stacknum-1)*stacksize] = value;
        return 1;
    }
}

int threestack::peek(int stacknum)
{
    if(stackpointer[stacknum-1] < 0)
    {
        printf("No element in stack now.\n");
        return 0;
    }
    else
    {
        printf("stackpointer = %d\n", stackpointer[stacknum-1]);
        return buffer[stackpointer[stacknum-1]+(stacknum-1)*stacksize];
    }
}

bool threestack::pop(int stacknum)
{
    if(stackpointer[stacknum-1] < 0)
    {
        printf("Plz do not try to pop an empty stack.\n");
        return 0;
    }
    else
    {
        stackpointer[stacknum-1]--;
    }
    return 1;
}

bool threestack::empty(int stacknum)
{
    if(stackpointer[stacknum-1] < 0)
    {
        return true;
    }
    else
    {
        return false;
    }
}


int main(int argc, const char * argv[])
{

    threestack test;
    test.push(1,5);
    //    test.pop(1);
    //    test.pop(1);
    int i;
    for(i=0; i<101; i++)
    {
        test.push(2, i);
        printf("%d\n", test.peek(2));
    }
    cout<<endl;
    printf("The top of stack 1 is %d\n", test.peek(1));
    //    std::cout << "Hello, World!\n";
    return 0;
}

Answer 1

C++ arrays have a fixed size at compile time. This is why your test module works - the size (=300) is known at compile time. That's mandatory because the size of an array is in fact part of it's type, implying that the type of int[1] is very different from int[2].

Yet it is not known when you kind of "dynamically" create the array in the constructor. The way out is allocating dynamic memory using the new and delete [] operators.

Even better, try to use shared_ptr, unique_ptr or auto_ptr.

Answer 2

This

int* buffer;

is not a declaration of an array. It is a declaration of a pointer to int.

In constructor

threestack(int stacksize_u)
{
    int buffer_u[stacksize_u*3];
    this->buffer = buffer_u;
    this->stacksize = stacksize_u;
}

all these two statements

    int buffer_u[stacksize_u*3];
    this->buffer = buffer_u;

are invalid. Firest of all sizes of arrays shall be constant expressions. Secondly you assign adrress of the first element of a local array to pointer buffer. After exiting from the constructor this address will be invalid because the local array will be destroyed.

You should either allocate dynamically array using operator new and assigning its value to data member buffer or use container std::vector instead of the dynamically allocated array.