Before C++11, it wasn't possible for a constructor to delegate tasks into another one of the same type or its direct base class. You can do it in C# or Java by calling this, base or super, ...

The above comment on “use C++ as ‘C with classes’.” … now that feels right as there is a place for classes, just don’t go overboard.

From a purely object-oriented perspective, "copy semantics" is the right way to preserve control over object ownership. But in those scenarios where ownership becomes irrelevant, C++11 "move semantics ...

You can't forward-declare a nested class, because at the point of declaration the compiler doesn't know whether the inner class is public/protected/private in the outer class.