invalid use of non-static data member

For a code like this:

class foo {
  protected:
    int a;
  public:
    class bar {
      public:
        int getA() {return a;}   // ERROR
    };
    foo()
      : a (p->param)
};

I get this error:

 invalid use of non-static data member 'foo::a'

currently the variable a is initialized in the constructor of foo.

if I make it static, then it says:

 error: 'int foo::a' is a static data member; it can only be initialized at its definition

However I want to pass a value to a in the constructor. What is the solution then?

In C++, unlike (say) Java, an instance of a nested class doesn't intrinsically belong to any instance of the enclosing class. So bar::getA doesn't have any specific instance of foo whose a it can be returning. I'm guessing that what you want is something like:

    class bar {
      private:
        foo * const owner;
      public:
        bar(foo & owner) : owner(&owner) { }
        int getA() {return owner->a;}
    };

But even for this you may have to make some changes, because in versions of C++ before C++11, unlike (again, say) Java, a nested class has no special access to its enclosing class, so it can't see the protected member a. This will depend on your compiler version. (Hat-tip to Ken Wayne VanderLinde for pointing out that C++11 has changed this.)

In C++, nested classes are not connected to any instance of the outer class. If you want bar to access non-static members of foo, then bar needs to have access to an instance of foo. Maybe something like:

class bar {
  public:
    int getA(foo & f ) {return foo.a;}
};

Or maybe

class bar {
  private:
    foo & f;

  public:
    bar(foo & g)
    : f(g)
    {
    }

    int getA() { return f.a; }
};

In any case, you need to explicitly make sure you have access to an instance of foo.

The nested class doesn't know about the outer class, and protected doesn't help. You'll have to pass some actual reference to objects of the nested class type. You could store a foo*, but perhaps a reference to the integer is enough:

class Outer
{
    int n;

public:
    class Inner
    {
        int & a;
    public:
        Inner(int & b) : a(b) { }
        int & get() { return a; }
    };

    // ...  for example:

    Inner inn;
    Outer() : inn(n) { }
};

Now you can instantiate inner classes like Inner i(n); and call i.get().

You try to access private member of one class from another. The fact that bar-class is declared within foo-class means that bar in visible only inside foo class, but that is still other class.

And what is p->param?

Actually, it isn't clear what do you want to do