Thread: Assignment of two char arrays

help please with this code, the compiler refuses the assignment, while i tried out to change it but hopless.....thanks in advance

Code:

  //............stuff

 vehicle::vehicle(char n[10]){ // defenition of constructor       
     this->name=n;                             
     cout<<"new vehicle was created its name is "<<endl;
     cout<<(this->name);
     return;
     };

as long as name is an array "this" should work

Code:

 vehicle::vehicle(char n[10]){ // defenition of constructor       
     this->strcpy(name, n);                             
     cout<<"new vehicle was created its name is "<<endl;
     cout<<(this->name);
     return;
     };

can't be sure though.

in fact this ll not work as strcopy() is a memeber function of string.h , so it should be use with strings not with char array


thats what i think, whatever it didnt work too

thanks for trying help me

The *this* pointer is not used in this way. It's sole purpose is to return a pointer to an instance's "self". Look at it this way: In C, there were no undeclared instances, since you had to pass a structure as a parameter(otherwise make it global...). So it was easy as pie to assign a pointer to a named object. In C++, we use member functions, which of course, are "attached" to the instance calling them. Hence, how do you return a pointer to an unnamed object??! The *this* pointer was born. Now, if you find yourself trying to access specific members of the class with it, you are off-track. So in other words, you can completely omit it in your case.

Here's an example of using it properly(albeit nonsensically...), then a simple rewrite of your code...

Code:

vehicle *ReturnIfInitialized() {

if(name != NULL) return this;

return NULL;
}

//............

int main()
{

vehicle car(NULL);

vehicle *ptr = car.ReturnIfInitialized() ;

if( ptr == NULL)
cout << "gimme a name!!" << endl;
else
cout << "Thanks for naming me" << ptr->name << "!!" << endl;

getch();

return 0;
}

//............

Code:

vehicle::vehicle(char n[10]){ // defenition of constructor       
     name=n;                             
     cout <<"new vehicle was created its name is "<<endl;
     cout << name;
     return;
     };

thank you very much for ur detailed reply, which i found so friendly to my mind it was a real foolish from me to try use *This* in the constructor function........


thanks again for ur help