Thread: Getting address of private members?

Okay...

How the heck do I get the address of a private class member? Sure, I can get it if it's not private, but...can anyone give me a hand? Thanks.

-Aramil

Why do you want it? Are you allowed to modify the class? If not, then you shouldn't need the address of a private variable. If you are allowed to change the class, and you really do need access to the address of the private member (probably bad design), then add a method that returns it.

It does defeat the purpose of a private function if you can access it outside a class. You can use accessor and modifier methods to access them from the outside though
Amish

Hmmm...okay, guess it would be bad design. I'm pretty sure I can come up with an alternative. Thanks.

(Funny...my CS teacher says I'm always doing things the hard way...calls me "Mr. Fancy Pants")

-Aramil

Code:

private:
	int a;
public:
	int* getAddressOfA() { return &a; }

Better design, as aforementioned, would be to use accessor methods to work with 'a' with member functions like getA(), setA(int).

There's something fundamentally wrong with wanting to know the address of a private member. That's like... de-privatizing a private member.

Originally Posted by BMJ

There's something fundamentally wrong with wanting to know the address of a private member. That's like... de-privatizing a private member.

I couldn't agree more!

Like everyone, said, it defeats the purpose of making it private in the first place, just use an accessor instead. But, if you *really* want to know whether it's possible or not, and, if so, how? here's an ugly way (which I do not advocate or condone, just to set the record straight):

Assign the address of the instance to void* and typecast it to the desired type, and you can work with a private member