C++ Primer Plus

Nested Classes and Access

Two kinds of access pertain to nested classes. First, where a nested class is declared controls the scope of the nested class; that is, it establishes which parts of a program can create objects of that class. Second, as with any class, the public, protected, and private sections of a nested class provide access control to class members. Where and how a nested class can be used depends on both scope and access control. Let’s examine these points further.

Scope

If a nested class is declared in a private section of a second class, it is known only to that second class. This applies, for example, to the Node class nested in the Queue declaration in the preceding example. Hence, Queue members can use Node objects and pointers ...