Private variables lose value between functions

Code:

---

class grid
{
private:
        unsigned                xSize,
                                ySize,
                                gridValues;
        string                gridFile;

        int generateRandom(int);

public:
        grid()
        { 
                xSize = 1;
                ySize = 1;
        }
        grid(int sizeX, int sizeY)
        {
                xSize = sizeX;
                ySize = sizeY;
                cout << xSize << " " << ySize; Displays random numbers
        }
       
        void createRandomGrid();
        void loadGrid(string);
        void displayGrid();
        void displayMenu();
};

---

Code:

---

int grid::generateRandom(int num)
        { cout << "in generateRandom" << endl;
                return 1 + rand() % num; }

void grid::displayGrid()
        {
                cout << "this function will return the grid as a string" << endl;
                cout << "X:" << xSize(Displays 1) << "Y:" << ySize(Displays 1) << endl;
                cout << "The area of your grid is " << xSize*ySize << endl;

        }
void grid::createRandomGrid()
        {       
                unsigned seed;
                seed = time(0);
                cout << "in createRandomGrid" << grid::generateRandom(seed) << endl;This works as intended
                grid::grid(grid::generateRandom(seed),grid::generateRandom(seed));
        }

---

So what happens is in grid::createRandomGrid the random number comes out ok, and generateRandom is working ok. My xSize and ySize values are being set by the Grid(int sizeX, int sizeY) but as soon as it finishes my createRandomGrid function and moves into displayGrid function the values of xSize and ySize are set to 1.

What am I not doing to keep these values set?

sorry if its confusing

ok just realized its running my Default Constructor after my Overloaded. anyone know why?

Show us how you are intializing your grid object. Not the ctor but how you are calling it. If you just call it like:
grid myGrid;

Then the first ctor is being called and they are set to 1.

we still need to see how you are calling it.

In createRandomGrid, you're calling a constructor. That creates a new object, which is immediately destroyed. It does not re-invoke the constructor for the current object. Instead of

Code:

---

grid::grid(grid::generateRandom(seed),grid::generateRandom(seed));

---

do

Code:

---

xSize = grid::generateRandom(seed);
ySize = grid::generateRandom(seed);

---

Unrelated to your problem, but the resolution of time() is pretty low: there is no guarantee it will produce different values on consecutive calls of createRandomGrid(), if those calls are very close in time.

@grumpy
The project specifically states to use time(0) for our random number seed, otherwise I agree that it's not very "random". Other than using a user defined or predefined number for seeding, what would you recommend?

@jeffcobb
You are correct, the way I was calling it was the problem. I had it down as grid mygrid; and also accidently had it included in my do loop for my menu. I pullede it out of the loop, still calling it as I was, but am now changing the xSize and ySize through a function. (as per this assignment, that is NOT very clear on how it wants things...)
I have it changed now and that fixed the problem.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SkylerZio

The project specifically states to use time(0) for our random number seed, otherwise I agree that it's not very "random". Other than using a user defined or predefined number for seeding, what would you recommend?

---

You do not seem to actually be using that as a seed though. What you are currently doing is using the "seed" to determine the upper limit of the range of numbers generated. This is different from what is meant by a seed for a pseudo-random number generator.

In fact, you probably should be using this seed value with srand just once, before all those calls to grid::generateRandom(). This could very well be at the start of the global main function. Then you call grid::generateRandom() with your desired upper limit, rather than with seed.