Understanding constructors

Did you notice how convenient it has been for the program examples in this chapter to have an Initialize() member function for each class or struct? Certainly, it is desirable to initialize all data members for a given instance. More so, it is crucial to ensure that data members for any instance have bonafide values, as we know that memory is not provided clean or zeroed-out by C++. Accessing an uninitialized data member, and utilizing its value as if it were bonafide, is a potential pitfall awaiting the careless programmer.

Initializing each data member individually each time a class is instantiated can be tedious work. What if we simply overlook setting a value? What if the values are private, and are therefore not directly accessible? We have seen that an Initialize() function is beneficial because once written, it provides a means to set all data members for a given instance. The only drawback is that the programmer must now remember to call Initialize...