Initialize a “Matrix” object in my own library?

Question

So, I'm trying to make a custom library to drive a 8x8 Bi-Color LED Matrix from 2 MAX7219's that incorporates two "Matrix" objects from the "Matrix" library and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to initialize them in my class. Can someone help me? By the way, I have been programming for 8 years, and consequently have a decent knowledge of the topic! Here is my current code:

header file

#include "Arduino.h"
#include "Matrix.h"
#include "Sprite.h"


class ZackBiColorMatrix{

    public:


        ZackBiColorMatrix(byte dataR, byte loadR, byte clockR, byte dataG, byte loadG, byte clockG);

        Matrix r;
        Matrix g;

        void setLED(byte col, byte row, byte val, char color);
        void writeSprite(byte x, byte y, Sprite sp, char color);



    private:



        byte redData;
        byte redLoad;
        byte redClock;

        byte greenData;
        byte greenLoad;
        byte greenClock;


};

and the .cpp file:

#include "Arduino.h"
#include "Sprite.h"
#include "Matrix.h"
#include "ZackBiColorMatrix.h"



ZackBiColorMatrix::ZackBiColorMatrix (byte dataR, byte loadR, byte clockR, byte dataG, byte loadG, byte clockG) {



    redData = dataR;
    redLoad = loadR;
    redClock = clockR;

    greenData = dataG;
    greenLoad = loadG;
    greenClock = clockG;

    r = Matrix (redData, redClock, redLoad);
    g = Matrix (greenData, greenClock, greenLoad);

}


void ZackBiColorMatrix::setLED (byte col, byte row, byte val, char color) {

    if (color == 'g') {

        g.write (col, row, val);

    }
    else if (color == 'r') {

        r.write (col, row, val);

    }

}
void ZackBiColorMatrix::writeSprite (byte x, byte y, Sprite sp, char color) {

    if (color == 'g') {

        g.write (x, y, sp);

    }
    else if (color == 'r') {

        r.write (x, y, sp);

    }

}

Also, I use the Eclipse Arduino IDE if that matters.

Answer 1

This is a C++ question actually.

In C++, you initialize class members in the class constructor definition by using a "member intialization list" as follows for your example:

ZackBiColorMatrix::ZackBiColorMatrix (byte dataR, byte loadR, byte clockR, byte dataG, byte loadG, byte clockG)
:   r(dataR, clockR, loadR),
    g(dataG, clockG, loadG) {
    ... Additional initialization here
}

This is a special C++ construct (note the colon : after the constructor declaration but before its implementation).

Also note that, in your example, I think you don't need to declare redData, redLoad, redClock, greenData, greenLoad, greenClock, sicne they are not being used once your 2 Matrix fields have been initialized.

Hence you could simplify your class further, I think.