memset for initialization in C++

Question

memset is sometimes used to initialize data in a constructor like the example below. Does it work in general ? Is it a good idea in general?

class A {
public:
   A();
private:
   int a;
   float f;
   char str[35];
   long *lp;
};

A::A()
{
   memset(this, 0, sizeof(*this));
}

Answer 1

Don't use memset. It's a holdover from C and won't work on non-PODs. Specifically, using it on a derived class that contains any virtual functions -- or any class containing a non-builtin -- will result in disaster.

C++ provides a specific syntax for initialization:

class A {
public:
   A();
private:
   int a;
   float f;
   char str[35];
   long *lp;
};

A::A()
    : a(0), f(0), str(), lp(NULL)
{
}

To be honest, I'm not sure, but memset might also be a bad idea on floating-points since their format is unspecified.

Answer 2

It's a terrible idea. You're just tromping over data, paying no heed to how objects should be initialized. If your class is virtual, you're likely to wipe out the vtable pointer as well.

memset works on raw data, but C++ isn't about raw data. C++ creates abstractions, so if you want to be safe you use those abstractions. Use the initializer list to initialize members.

You can do it to POD types:

struct nothing_fancy_here
{
    bool b;
    int i;
    void* p;
};

nothing_fancy_here x;
memset(&x, 0, sizeof(x));

But if you're doing it on this, that means you're in a user-defined constructor and no longer qualify as a POD type. (Though if all your members are POD it might work, as long as none contain 0 as a trap value. I'm sure not sure if any other sources of undefined behavior come into play here.)