Passing around objects in c++

[zensunni]

So, basically, this is what the classes would look like:

class Item {
std::string name;
}

class PostOffice {
std::vector<Ite m> mail;
}

class House {
std::vector<Ite m> mail;
}


I'd like to be able to do this in my main:

PostOffice dhl;
dhl.sendToHouse ();

And after the sendToHouse() function is called, the items from the PostOffice object's vector would be transfered to the House object's vector. Is that possible without pointers?

[Laharl]

Yes, it's possible by passing the postoffice's vector as a parameter to the method when you call it, then assigning the contents to the other vector, though using a vector of pointers would speed your program up dramatically as fewer copy constructors and extra copies need to be generated, though you'd have to be careful to avoid segfaults.

[zensunni]

passing the postoffice's vector as a parameter

do you mean something like this:

void PostOffice::mailToHouse(Vector<Item> &items, int i) {
     PO_member_vector.push_back(items.at(i));
     items.erase(i)
}

Or, am I off track? I'm just new to c++, so there might be some things I'm not crystal clear about.

[edit] wait, that code doesn't work at all. I'll re-do it and edit my post later on..

[Laharl]

That works for one item, yes. To send all of them, you'd need to use a loop of some kind, be it a for loop with [] or a while loop with iterators (or even a for loop with iterators). Of course, you could put the loop in where you call this and send each item individualy if you want.