What happens when a derived class directly accesses a private member of its base class? 

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
class Base
{
private:
    int x = 5;
};
class Derived : public Base
{
public:
    void show()
    {
        cout << x;
    }
};
int main()
{
    Derived d;
    d.show();
    return 0;
}

Options

  • A. It prints 5
  • B. It prints 0
  • C. Compilation error because x is private in Base
  • D. More than one of the above
  • E. None of the above

Correct Answer (Detailed Explanation is Below)

C. Compilation error because x is private in Base

Detailed Explanation

Correct Answer: Option C

Explanation:
Private members belong to the base class and cannot be accessed directly by derived-class member functions. The expression cout << x therefore causes a compilation error. A public or protected base-class function could provide controlled access.
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