How do I pass an array to a constructor?

Question

I want to pass an array to a constructor, but only the first value is passed--the rest looks like garbage.

Here's a simplified version of what I'm working on:

#include <iostream>

class board
{
    public:
        int state[64];
        board(int arr[])
        {
            *state = *arr;
        }
        void print();
};

void board::print()
{
    for (int y=0; y<8; y++)
    {
        for (int x=0; x<8; x++)
            std::cout << state[x + y*8] << " ";
        std::cout << "\n";
    }
}

int main()
{
    int test[64] = {
        0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
        1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
        2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
        3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10,
        4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10,11,
        5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10,11,12,
        6, 7, 8, 9,10,11,12,13,
        7, 8, 9,10,11,12,13,14 };

    board b(test);
    b.print();

    std::cin.get();
    return 0;
}

Can someone explain why this doesn't work and how to properly pass an array? Also, I don't want to copy the array. (And do I really have to indent every line by 4 spaces for code? That's pretty tedious.)

Answer 1

In this case it might be best to use a reference to the array:

class board
{
    int (&state)[64];

public:
    board(int (&arr)[64]) 
        : state(arr)
    {}

    // initialize use a pointer to an array
    board(int (*p)[64]) 
        : state(*p)
    {}


    void print();
};

A couple of advantages - no copying of the array, and the compiler will enforce that the correct size array is passed in.

The drawbacks are that the array you initialize the board object with needs to live at least as long as the object and any changes made to the array outside of the object are 'reflected' into the object's state. but those drawbacks occur if you use a pointer to the original array as well (basically, only copying the array will eliminate those drawbacks).

One additional drawback is that you can't create the object using a pointer to an array element (which is what array function parameters 'decay' to if the array size isn't provided in the parameter's declaration). For example, if the array is passed through a function parameter that's really a pointer, and you want that function to be able to create a board object referring to that array.