problem with templates

hello, i am hoping that someone knowledgable about C++ templates could help solve a problem i am having. Before i explain the problem, i want to show a simplified version of the code I've got for the class that I'm having trouble with:

Code:

---

template <typename TYPE>
class linked_list
{
private:
        template <typename TYPE>
        class node
        {
                TYPE * data;
        };

public:
        node<TYPE> & operator[](unsigned int index);
};

---

The problem is that when I try to make a declaration for the operator[]() method, I get many errors. I want it to return a reference to a linkedlist::node class. I attempted to declare it like this:

Code:

---

template <typename TYPE>
linked_list<TYPE>::node<TYPE> & linked_list<TYPE>::operator[](unsigned int index)
{
}

---

I would think that something like this would work. Microsoft Visual C++ 8.0 says that the node type that's in the linked_list class is equivilent to

Code:

---

class linked_list<TYPE>::node<typename TYPE>

---

I would be appreciative if someone would be able to tell me the proper way to make my declaration for operator[](). Thank you.

You might have to use typename, e.g.

Code:

---

template <typename TYPE>
typename linked_list<TYPE>::node<TYPE> & linked_list<TYPE>::operator[](unsigned int index)
{
}

---

Thank you, that did the trick.