Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!wuarchive!emory!hubcap!grimlok
From: grimlok@hubcap.clemson.edu (Mike Percy)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Bear with me, my stupid question
Message-ID: <9873@hubcap.clemson.edu>
Date: 26 Jul 90 20:32:28 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Clemson University, Clemson, SC
Lines: 30

If I've declared something as
 
class X {
   int count; 
public:
   X(X& another_X);   // construct a new X from an old X
   X operator +(X& rhs);
   :
} 

and I have
X X::operator +(X& rhs)
{
  // make a temporary copy of the lhs or rhs, withever is larger 
  X temp(count > rhs.count ? this : rhs);
  // do stuff with temp
  return temp;
}
 
This causes problems as this is of type
X *this 
and rhs is of type
X& rhs
 
I don't want to write it as X X::operator +(X *rhs) because I want to do
stuff like
X a, b, c;
c = a + b;      // don't want to have to do c = a + &b;
 
How do I properly get a X& from X *this?