Should I use virtual 'Initialize()' functions to initialize an object of my class?

Question

I\'m currently having a discussion with my teacher about class design and we came to the point of Initialize() functions, which he heavily promotes. Example:

Answer 1

One argument for preferring initialization in the constructor: it makes it easier to ensure that every object has a valid state. Using two-phase initialization, there's a window where the object is ill-formed.

One argument against using the constructor is that the only way of signalling a problem is through throwing an exception; there's no ability to return anything from a constructor.

Another plus for a separate initialization function is that it makes it easier to support multiple constructors with different parameter lists.

As with everything this is really a design decision that should be made with the specific requirements of the problem at hand, rather than making a blanket generalization.