What are the Default Values of Implicitly Initialized Class Members in C ?

Implicit Class Member Initialization Without Explicit Values

Consider a class with private members ptr, name, pname, rname, crname, and age. When explicit initialization is omitted, these members are initialized with default values based on their respective types, similar to local variables in functions.

Initialization of Objects and Primitive Types

Class objects, such as name (string), are automatically initialized using their default constructors. In this case, name will be initialized as an empty string. Primitive types, including pointers like ptr and integers like age, are not explicitly initialized. They hold whatever arbitrary values were present in the memory location before.

Initialization of References

Unlike objects and primitive types, references like rname and crname must be initialized explicitly. Omitting initialization for references will result in a compiler error because they require a valid reference to function correctly.

Default Initialization in Your Example

In the example provided:

• int *ptr;: ptr will contain a garbage pointer value.
• string name;: name will be an empty string.
• string *pname;: pname will hold a garbage pointer value.
• string &rname; and const string &crname;: Explicit initialization is required for these references, so there will be a compile error.
• int age;: age will contain a random, garbage value.

Understanding implicit member initialization is crucial for writing correct and bug-free code. By omitting explicit initialization, class members can be assigned default values based on their types. However, it's essential to be aware of the limitations of implicit initialization, especially when working with references, to avoid errors and data inconsistencies.

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