operator[]

[Aibsr]

What should the operator[] return in a function that returns the -n-th element in a list?

//This is the Class
  class Customer {
private:
	string name;
	long number;
	int bonus;
	list<Product> recentOrders;
public:
         /*Type*/operator[](long n) {
            return recentOrders[n]; //Is this legal?
          }
};

[Daleth]

You return the type of the variable that is stored in the array. In your case, the return type should be a reference to Product. Remember that operator[] usually allows you to modify the element in the array (or pseudo-array).

Product& Customer::operator[](long n);

Line 10 is not legal because std::list does not overload operator[]. If you want to use operator[], you can always use std::vector. Else, you will have to create an iterator and "advance" it n places. Keep in mind that one of std::list's weaknesses is iterating to specific positions.

You should also remember to check if the index is less than 0 or is out-of-bounds.

Random Note:
You can also have a read-only version of operator[]:

Product Customer::operator[](long n)const;

[Aibsr]

Thanks