Question regarding comparing two linked lists

Hi,
I am encountering a compiler error that I am not able to resolve. I wrote a simple test program to demonstrate it:

Code:

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#include <iostream>
#include <list>

using std::cout;
using std::endl;

using std::list;

class TestClass {
        public:
                TestClass(int a) { somedummydata = a; }

                bool operator==(const TestClass &other) { return (somedummydata == other.somedummydata); }
                bool operator!=(const TestClass &other) { return (somedummydata != other.somedummydata); }

        private:
                int somedummydata;
};

int main() {
        list<TestClass> *list1 = new list<TestClass>;
        list<TestClass> *list2 = new list<TestClass>;

        for (unsigned int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
                TestClass a(i);
                list1->push_back(a);
                list2->push_back(a);
        }

        if (*list1 == *list2) {
                cout << "a" << endl;
        }
}

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the code does not compile. Here is the compiler output:

Code:

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/usr/include/c++/4.1.3/bits/stl_list.h: In function ‘bool std::operator==(const std::list<_Tp, _Alloc>&, const std::list<_Tp, _Alloc>&) [with _Tp = TestClass, _Alloc = std::allocator<TestClass>]’:
test.cpp:30:  instantiated from here
/usr/include/c++/4.1.3/bits/stl_list.h:1174: error: passing ‘const TestClass’ as ‘this’ argument of ‘bool TestClass::operator==(const TestClass&)’ discards qualifiers

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I don't quite understand the error. Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong?

The output is from GCC 4.1 on Linux.

Thank you very much

1) Why are you allocating the lists on the heap?

2) You need to make the comparison members const:

Code:

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bool operator==(const TestClass &other) const { return (somedummydata == other.somedummydata); }

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This allows them to be called on const instances of the class. Since list's == is const, the list is const within the operator, and thus its members are const too.

Quote:

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1) Why are you allocating the lists on the heap?

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I am having this problem on a large project. This is just the test code I wrote to demonstrate my question. On my original project, allocating the lists on the heap allows more flexibility.

Quote:

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Code:

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bool operator==(const TestClass &other) const { return (somedummydata == other.somedummydata); }

---

This allows them to be called on const instances of the class. Since list's == is const, the list is const within the operator, and thus its members are const too.

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That works perfectly, thank you for your help.