How can I initialize base class member variables in derived class constructor?

Question

You can't initialize a and b in B because they are not members of B. They are members of A, therefore only A can initialize them. You can make them public, then do assignment in B, but that is not a recommended option since it would destroy encapsulation. Instead, create a constructor in A to allow B (or any subclass of A) to initialize them:

class A 
{
protected:
    A(int a, int b) : a(a), b(b) {} // Accessible to derived classes
    // Change "protected" to "public" to allow others to instantiate A.
private:
    int a, b; // Keep these variables private in A
};

class B : public A 
{
public:
    B() : A(0, 0) // Calls A's constructor, initializing a and b in A to 0.
    {
    } 
};

Leaving aside the fact that they are private, since a and b are members of A, they are meant to be initialized by A's constructors, not by some other class's constructors (derived or not).

Try:

class A
{
    int a, b;

protected: // or public:
    A(int a, int b): a(a), b(b) {}
};

class B : public A
{
    B() : A(0, 0) {}
};

Somehow, no one listed the simplest way:

class A
{
public:
    int a, b;
};

class B : public A
{
    B()
    {
        a = 0;
        b = 0;
    }

};

You can't access base members in the initializer list, but the constructor itself, just as any other member method, may access public and protected members of the base class.

# include<stdio.h>
# include<iostream>
# include<conio.h>

using namespace std;

class Base{
    public:
        Base(int i, float f, double d): i(i), f(f), d(d)
        {
        }
    virtual void Show()=0;
    protected:
        int i;
        float f;
        double d;
};


class Derived: public Base{
    public:
        Derived(int i, float f, double d): Base( i, f, d)
        {
        }
        void Show()
        {
            cout<< "int i = "<<i<<endl<<"float f = "<<f<<endl <<"double d = "<<d<<endl;
        }
};

int main(){
    Base * b = new Derived(10, 1.2, 3.89);
    b->Show();
    return 0;
}

It's a working example in case you want to initialize the Base class data members present in the Derived class object, whereas you want to push these values interfacing via Derived class constructor call.

While this is usefull in rare cases (if that was not the case, the language would've allowed it directly), take a look at the Base from Member idiom. It's not a code free solution, you'd have to add an extra layer of inheritance, but it gets the job done. To avoid boilerplate code you could use boost's implementation

Why can't you do it? Because the language doesn't allow you to initializa a base class' members in the derived class' initializer list.

How can you get this done? Like this:

class A
{
public:
    A(int a, int b) : a_(a), b_(b) {};
    int a_, b_;
};

class B : public A
{
public:
    B() : A(0,0) 
    {
    }
};