In C ++, adding a friend to a class changes its memory layout?

Question

Also, does it matter where in the class you declare a friend? Does it matter if you add a friend class or friend function?

Answer 1

No no. This is pure compilation: similar to access modifiers.

Even though you are writing a declaration inside a class, you really are not adding a friend to the class. You basically declare something else as a friend of the class and simply allow it to access the private members of the class, as if they were public.

Answer 2

As already mentioned, this is a pure compile-time mechanism.