Thread: Accessing classes over classes

Hey!

I've been fighting with a problem about using members of a class. I haven't got anything working solution of it. I've tried searching from google too. Probably I just don't know what to search for... Can you help because I know just "ugly" ways of doing this? I'd prefer wise way.

The problem (not real code):

Code:

class C {
public
   getC()
private
   objC
}

class B : public class C {
public
   getB()
private
   C objB
}

class A : public class B {
public
   getA()
private
   B objA
}

main {
   A object
   C object2 = object.getA().getB().getC()
}

So, I'd like to get to class B or class C in not so ugly way as that. Should I inherit the class B as private, "private class B", or something? Or use protected?

NB: My opinions follow:

It might be better if you gave a concrete example of what your actually trying to do. Are you really just using classes "A", "B", "C"? Or are you using real-world "things", like "Animal", "Dog", "Cat", etc? I would try and think of a more concrete example of what your trying to do. I cant recall any time Ive had to use a design such as what your doing (whether in this language or not). Do you really need a "B" to store a reference to its parent class "C", without "C" being "*this"? Again, I cant think of a reason why you would need that sort of thing.

In real code I'm trying to make a console program. I have classes "Application", "Normal_screen", "Clock_window", "Clock" and "Curse_window" in this hierarchy:

Application
|_Normal_screen
| |_Clock_window
| | |_Curse_window
| | |_Clock
| |_Main_window
|_Inventory_screen

So, I have for example in application.h "class Application : public Normal_screen, public Inventory_screen". I'm not sure if I'm thinking right about this problem like I should. Feels like there are two ways of thinking this, logical and hierarchical...hard to explain, but anyway...

My plan is that there are many windows' on screen (Normal_screen). In this example there's just one, Clock_window which is made window by Curse_window. In Clock_window I want to show a clock. I'd like to give commands to Clock_window from main() without ugly sentences that I wrote about earlier.

Use this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRASP_(...riented_Design)

One suggestion, for example:

Code:

class C {
};

class B {
public:
   getC();
private:
   C objC;
};

class A {
public:
   getC();
private:
   B objB;
};

int main {
   A object
   C object2 = object.getC();
   return 0;
}