C++ VIVA Question and Answers by mcacareers.

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1. What is C++

C++ is created by BjarneStroustrup of AT&T Bell Labs as an

extension of C, C++ is an object-oriented computer language used in
the development of enterprise and commercial applications.
Microsoft’s Visual C++ became the premier language of choice
among developers and programmers.

2. What are the basic concepts of object oriented programming?

It is necessary to understand some of the concepts used extensively

in object oriented programming.These include

Objects

Classes

Data abstraction and encapsulation

Inheritance

Polymorphism

Dynamic Binding

Message passing

3. Define inheritance?

The mechanism of deriving a new class (derived) from an old class

(base class) is called inheritance. It allows the extension and reuse
of existing code without having to rewrite the code from scratch.
Inheritance is the process by which objects of one class acquire
properties of objects of another class.

4. Define polymorphism?

Polymorphism means one name, multiple forms. It allows us to have

more than one function with the same name in a program.It allows
us to have overloading of operators so that an operation can exhibit
different behaviours in different instances.
5. What is encapsulation?

The wrapping up of data and functions into a single unit (called

class) is known as encapsulation. Encapsulation containing and
hiding information about an object, such as internal data structures
and code.

What is message passing?

An object oriented program consists of a set of objects that communicate with

each other. Message passing involves specifying the name of the object, the
name of the function and the information to be sent.

7. What are tokens in C++?

The smallest individual units of a program is known as tokens. c++ has the following
tokens :

Keywords

Identifiers

Constants

Strings

Operators

8. What is the use of enumerated data type?

An enumerated data type is another user defined type which provides a way for
attaching names to numbers thereby increasing comprehensibility of the code. The
enum keyword automatically enumerates a list of words by assigning them values
0,1,2, and so on.

9. What is the use of default constructor?

A constructors that accepts no parameters is called the default constructor.If no

user-defined constructor exists for a class A and one is needed, the compiler
implicitly declares a default parameterless constructor A::A(). This constructor is an
inline public member of its class. The compiler will implicitly define A::A() when the
compiler uses this constructor to create an object of type A. The constructor will
have no constructor initializer and a null body.

10. Define Constructors?

 A constructor is a member function with the same name as its class. The constructor
is invoked whenever an object of its associated class is created.It is called
constructor because it constructs the values of data members of the class.

How variable
declaration in c++
differs that in c?

C requires all the variables to be declared at the beginning of

a scope but in c++ we can declare variables anywhere in the
scope. This makes the programmer easier to understand
because the variables are declared in the context of their use.

12. Define destuctors?

A destructor is called for a class object when that object passes out of scope or is
explicitly deleted.A destructors as the name implies is used to destroy the objects
that have been created by a constructors.Like a constructor , the destructor is a
member function whose name is the same as the class name but is precided by a
tilde.

13. What is a class?

A class is a collection of objects.

14. what is the difference between c &c++?

c++ia an object oriented programing but c is a procedure oriented programing.c is

super set of c++. c can't suportinheritance,function overloading, method
overloading etc. but c++ can do this.In c-programe the main function could not
return a value but in the c++ the main function shuld return a value.

15. What is copy constructor?

Copy constructor is a constructor function with the same name as the class and used
to make deep copy of objects.

What is
default
constructor
?
 A default constructor is a constructor that either has no parameters, or if it
has parameters, all the parameters have default values.

17. What is a scope resolution operator?

The scope resolution operator permits a program to reference an identifier in the

global scope that has been hidden by another identifier with the same name in the
local scope.

18. What is the difference between Object and Instance?

An instance of a user-defined type is called an object. We can instantiate many

objects from one class.
An object is an instance of a class.

19. What is the difference between macro and iniine?

Inline follows strict parameter type checking, macros do not.

Macros are always expanded by preprocessor, whereas compiler may or may not
replace the inline definitions.

20. How variable declaration in c++ differs that in c?

C requires all the variables to be declared at the beginning of a scope but in c++ we
can declare variables anywhere in the scope. This makes the programmer easier to
understand because the variables are declared in the context of their use.

What is
multiple
inheritance
?

A class can inherit properties from more than one class which is known as
multiple inheritance.

22. what is the use of virtual destructor in c++?

A destructor is automatically called when the object is destroyed. A virtual

destructor in C++ is used primarily to prevent resource leaks by performing a clean-
up of the object.

23. What do you mean by reference variable in c++?

A reference variable provides an alias to a previously defined variable.

 Data -type & reference-name = variable name

24. What do you mean by implicit conversion?

Whenever data types are mixed in an expression then c++ performs the conversion
automatically.

Here smaller type is converted to wider type.

Example : in case of integer and float integer is converted into float type.

25. What are virtual functions?

The virtual fuctions must be members of some class.

They cannot be static members.

They are accessed by using object pointers.

A virtual function can be a friend of another class.

What is
the
differenc
e
between
class and
structure
?

By default, the members ot structures are public while that tor class is
private.

structures doesn’t provide something like data hiding which is provided by the
classes.

structures contains only data while class bind both data and member
functions.

27. What are storage qualifiers in C++ ?

ConstKeyword indicates that memory once initialized, should not be altered by a

program.
Volatile keyword indicates that the value in the memory location can be altered even
though nothing in the program.
Mutable keyword indicates that particular member of a structure or class can be
altered even if a particular structure variable, class, or class member function is
 constant.

28. What is virtual class and friend class?

Friend classes are used when two or more classes and virtual base class aids in
multiple inheritance.
Virtual class is used for run time polymorphism when object is linked to procedure
call at run time.

29. what is an abstract base class?

An abstract class is a class that is designed to be specifically used as a base class.

An abstract class contains at least one pure virtual function.

30. What is dynamic binding?

Dynamic binding (also known as late binding) means that the code associated with a
given procedure call is not known until the time of the call at run time.It is
associated with polymorphism and inheritance.

what is
difference
between
function
overloading
and
operator
overloading
?

A function is overloaded when same name is given to different function.

While overloading a function, the return type of the functions need to be
the same.

32. What are the advantages of inheritance?

Code reusability

Saves time in program development.

33. What is a dynamic constructor?

The constructor can also be used to allocate memory while creating objects.
Allocation of memory to objects at the time of their construction is known as
dynamic construction of objects.The memory is allocated with the help of the new
 operator.

34. What is the difference between an Array and a List?

The main difference between an array and a list is how they internally store the
data. whereas Array is collection of homogeneous elements. List is collection of
heterogeneous elements.

35. What is the use of ‘using’ declaration?

A using declaration makes it possible to use a name from a namespace.

What is
the
differenc
e
between
a
template
class and
class
template
?

Template classA generic definition or a parameterized class not instantiated

until the client provides the needed information. It’s jargon for plain
templates.
Class templateA class template specifies how individual classes can be
constructed much like the way a class specifies how individual objects can be
constructed. It’s jargon for plain classes.

37. What is friend function?

The function declaration should be preceded by the keyword friend.The function

definitions does not use either the keyword or the scope operator ::. The functions
that are declared with the keyword friend as friend function.Thus, a friend function is
an ordinary function or a member of another class.

38. What is a scope resolution operator?

A scope resolution operator (::), can be used to define the member functions of a
class outside the class.

39. What do you mean by pure virtual functions?

 A pure virtual member function is a member function that the base class forces
derived classes to provide. Any class containing any pure virtual function cannot be
used to create object of its own type.

40. What is a conversion constructor?

A converting constructor is a single-parameter constructor that is declared without

the function specifier explicit. The compiler uses converting constructors to convert
objects from the type of the first parameter to the type of the converting
constructor’s class.

What is
a
containe
r class?
What
are the
types of
containe
r
classes?

A container class is a class that is used to hold objects in memory or external

storage. A container class acts as a generic holder. A container class has a
predefined behavior and a wellknown interface. A container class is a
supporting class whose purpose is to hide the topology used for maintaining
the list of objects in memory. When a container class contains a group of
mixed objects, the container is called a heterogeneous container; when the
container is holding a group of objects that are all the same, the container is
called a homogeneous container.

42. What is Associative container?

Associative containers are designed to support direct access to elements using keys.
They are not sequential. There are four types of associatives containers :

Set

Multiset

Map

Multimap

43. What is an iterator?

Iterators are like pointers. They are used to access the elements of containers thus
 providing a link between algorithms and containers. Iterators are defined for specific
containers and used as arguments to algorithms.

44. What are the defining traits of an object-oriented language?

The defining traits of an object-oriented langauge are :

Encapsulation

Inheritance

Polymorphism

45. Name some pure object oriented languages?

Smalltalk

Java

Eiffel

Sather

What is
this
pointer
?

It is a pointer that points to the current object. This can be used to access the
members of the current object with the help of the arrow operator.

47. What is encapsulation?

Encapsulation (or information hiding) is the process of combining data and functions
into a single unit called class.

48. What is problem with Runtime type identification?

The run time type identification comes at a cost of performance penalty. Compiler
maintains the class.

49. What are the differences between new and malloc?

New initializes the allocated memory by calling the constructor. Memory allocated
with new should be released with delete.
 Malloc allocates uninitialized memory.

The allocated memory has to be released with free.new automatically calls the
constructor while malloc(dosen’t)

50. What is conversion operator?

You can define a member function of a class, called a conversion function, that
converts from the type of its class to another specified type.

What is
differenc
e
between
template
and
macro?

A template can be used to create a family of classes or function.A template

describes a set of related classes or set of related functions in which a list of
parameters in the declaration describe how the members of the set vary.
Identifiers that represent statements or expressions are called macros.

52. What is reference?

Reference is a name that acts as an alias, or alternative name, for a previously

defined variable or an object.

53. What are the access specifier in c++?

There are three types of access specifier in c++ . They are

Public

protected

private

54. What is difference between C++ and Java?

C++ has pointers Java does not.

Java is the platform independent as it works on any type of operating systems.

java has no pointers where c ++ has pointers.

Java has garbage collection C++ does not.

55. What is namespace?

The C++ language provides a single global namespace.Namespaces allow to group

entities like classes, objects and functions under a name.

What is an
explicit
constructor
?

A conversion constructor declared with the explicit keyword. The compiler

does not use an explicit constructor to implement an implied conversion of
types. It’s purpose is reserved explicitly for construction.Explicit
constructors are simply constructors that cannot take part in an implicit
conversion.

57. What is the use of storage class specifiers?

A storage class specifier is used to refine the declaration of a variable, a function,

and parameters. The following are storage class specifiers :

auto

register

static

extern

58. what is assignment operator in c++?

Default assignment operator handles assigning one object to another of the same
class. Member to member copy (shallow copy).

59. Can destructor be private?

Yes destructors can be private. But according it is not advisable to have destructors
to be private.

60. What is strstream?

stringstream provides an interface to manipulate strings as if they were input/output

streams.
‹ strstream› to define several classes that support iostreams operations on
sequences stored in an allocated array of char object.
What are
the types
of STL
containers
?

deque

hash map

hashmultimap

hash_multiset

hashset

list

map

multimap

multiset

set

vector

62. What is the difference between method overloading and method

overriding?

Overloading a method (or function) in C++ is the ability for functions of the same
name to be defined as long as these methods have different signatures (different set
of parameters).
Method overriding is the ability of the inherited class rewriting the virtual method
of the base class.

63. What do you mean by inline function?

An inline function is a function that is expanded inline when invoked.ie. the compiler
replaces the function call with the corresponding function code. An inline function is
a function that is expanded in line when it is invoked. That is the compiler replaces
the function call with the corresponding function code (similar to macro).

64. What is a template?

 A template can be used to create a family of classes or function.A template
describes a set of related classes or set of related functions in which a list of
parameters in the declaration describe how the members of the set vary.

65. What is a copy constructor and when is it called?

A copy constructor is a method that accepts an object of the same class and copies
it members to the object on the left part of assignement.

What is
the
difference
between a
copy
constructo
r and an
overloaded
assignmen
t operator?

A copy constructor constructs a new object by using the content of the

argument object. An overloaded assignment operator assigns the contents
of an existing object to another existing object of the same class.

67. What is a virtual destructor?

The simple answer is that a virtual destructor is one that is declared with the virtual
attribute.

68. What do you mean by Stack unwinding?

It is a process during exception handling when the destructor is called for all local
objects between the place where the exception was thrown and where it is caught.

69. What is STL? and what are the components of stl?

A collection of generic classes and functions is called as Standard Template Library

(STL).The stl components are

containers

Algorithm

Iterators
 .

70. What is a modifier?

A modifier, also called a modifying function is a member function that changes the
value of at least one data member. In other words, an operation that modifies the
state of an object. Modifiers are also known as mutators.

What is
an
adaptor
class or
Wrappe
r class?

A class that has no functionality of its own. Its member functions hide the use
of a third party software component or an object with the non-compatible
interface or a non-objectoriented implementation.

72. What is a Null object?

It is an object of some class whose purpose is to indicate that a real object of that
class does not exist. One common use for a null object is a return value from a
member function that is supposed to return an object with some specified properties
but cannot find such an object.

73. What is class invariant?

A class invariant is a condition that defines all valid states for an object. It is a
logical condition to ensure the correct working of a class. Class invariants must hold
when an object is created, and they must be preserved under all operations of the
class. In particular all class invariants are both preconditions and post-conditions for
all operations or member functions of the class.

74. What is the difference between the message and method?

Message : Objects communicate by sending messages to each other.A message is

sent to invoke a method.
Method : Provides response to a message and it is an implementation of an
operation.

How can
we
access
protecte
d and
private
member
s of a
class?

In the case of members protected and private, these could not be accessed
from outside the same class at which they are declared. This rule can be
transgressed with the use of the friend keyword in a class, so we can allow an
external function to gain access to the protected and private members of a
class.

76. What do you mean by late binding?

Late binding refers to function calls that are not resolved until run time. Virtual
functions are used to achieve late binding. When access is via a base pointer or
reference, the virtual function actually called is determined by the type of object
pointed to by the pointer.

77. What is virtual function?

A virtual function is a member function that is declared within a base class and
redefined by a derived class .To create a virtual function, the function declaration in
the base class is preceded by the keyword virtual.

78. What do you mean by early binding?

Early binding refers to the events that occur at compile time. Early binding occurs
when all information needed to call a function is known at compile time. Examples of
early binding include normal function calls, overloaded function calls, and overloaded
operators. The advantage of early binding is efficiency.

What is encapsulation??

Containing and hiding information about an object, such as internal data structures
and code. Encapsulation isolates the internal complexity of an object's operation
from the rest of the application. For example, a client component asking for net
revenue from a business object need not know the data's origin.
What is inheritance?
Inheritance allows one class to reuse the state and behavior of another class. The
derived class inherits the properties and method implementations of the base class
and extends it by overriding methods and adding additional properties and methods.
What is Polymorphism??

Polymorphism allows a client to treat different objects in the same way even if they
were created from different classes and exhibit different behaviors.

You can use implementation inheritance to achieve polymorphism in languages such

as C++ and Java.

Base class object's pointer can invoke methods in derived class objects.

You can also achieve polymorphism in C++ by function overloading and operator
overloading.

What is constructor or ctor?

Constructor creates an object and initializes it. It also creates vtable for virtual
functions. It is different from other methods in a class.
What is destructor?

Destructor usually deletes any extra resources allocated by the object.

What is default constructor?

Constructor with no arguments or all the arguments has default values.

What is copy constructor?

Constructor which initializes the it's object member variables ( by shallow copying)
with another object of the same class. If you don't implement one in your class then
compiler implements one for you.

for example:
Boo Obj1(10); // calling Boo constructor

Boo Obj2(Obj1); // calling boo copy constructor

Boo Obj2 = Obj1;// calling boo copy constructor
When are copy constructors called?

Copy constructors are called in following cases:

a) when a function returns an object of that class by value
b) when the object of that class is passed by value as an argument to a function
c) when you construct an object based on another object of the same class
d) When compiler generates a temporary object
What is assignment operator?

Default assignment operator handles assigning one object to another of the same
class. Member to member copy (shallow copy)
What are all the implicit member functions of the class? Or what are all the functions which compiler
implements for us if we don't define one.??

defaultctor
copy ctor
assignment operator
default destructor
address operator
What is conversion constructor?

constructor with a single argument makes that constructor as conversion ctor and it
can be used for type conversion.

for example:

class Boo
{
public:
Boo( int i );
};

Boo BooObject = 10 ; // assigning int 10 Boo object

What is conversion operator??

class can have a public method for specific data type conversions.
for example:
class Boo
{
double value;
public:
Boo(int i )
operator double()
{
return value;
}
};

Boo BooObject;

double i = BooObject; // assigning object to variable i of type double. now

conversion operator gets called to assign the value.

What is diff between malloc()/free() and new/delete?

malloc allocates memory for object in heap but doesn't invoke object's constructor
to initiallize the object.

new allocates memory and also invokes constructor to initialize the object.

malloc() and free() do not support object semantics

Does not construct and destruct objects
string * ptr = (string *)(malloc (sizeof(string)))
Are not safe
Does not calculate the size of the objects that it construct
Returns a pointer to void
int *p = (int *) (malloc(sizeof(int)));
int *p = new int;
Are not extensible
new and delete can be overloaded in a class

"delete" first calls the object's termination routine (i.e. its destructor) and then
releases the space the object occupied on the heap memory. If an array of objects
was created using new, then delete must be told that it is dealing with an array by
preceding the name with an empty []:-

Int_t *my_ints = new Int_t[10];

...

delete []my_ints;

what is the diff between "new" and "operator new" ?

"operator new" works like malloc.

What is difference between template and macro??

There is no way for the compiler to verify that the macro parameters are of
compatible types. The macro is expanded without any special type checking.

If macro parameter has a postincremented variable ( likec++ ), the increment is

performed two times.

Because macros are expanded by the preprocessor, compiler error messages will
refer to the expanded macro, rather than the macro definition itself. Also, the macro
will show up in expanded form during debugging.

for example:

Macro:

#define min(i, j) (i < j ? i : j)

template:
template<class T>
T min (T i, T j)
{
return i < j ? i : j;
}
What are C++ storage classes?

auto
register
static
extern

auto: the default. Variables are automatically created and initialized when they are
defined and are destroyed at the end of the block containing their definition. They
are not visible outside that block

register: a type of auto variable. a suggestion to the compiler to use a CPU register
for performance

static: a variable that is known only in the function that contains its definition but is
never destroyed and retains its value between calls to that function. It exists from
the time the program begins execution

extern: a static variable whose definition and placement is determined when all
object and library modules are combined (linked) to form the executable code file. It
can be visible outside the file where it is defined.
What are storage qualifiers in C++ ?

They are..

const
volatile
mutable

Const keyword indicates that memory once initialized, should not be altered by a
program.

volatile keyword indicates that the value in the memory location can be altered even
though nothing in the program
code modifies the contents. for example if you have a pointer to hardware location
that contains the time, where hardware changes the value of this pointer variable
and not the program. The intent of this keyword to improve the optimization ability
of the compiler.
mutable keyword indicates that particular member of a structure or class can be
altered even if a particular structure variable, class, or class member function is
constant.

struct data
{
char name[80];
mutable double salary;
}

const data MyStruct = { "SatishShetty", 1000 }; //initlized by complier

strcpy ( MyStruct.name, "ShilpaShetty"); // compiler error

MyStruct.salaray = 2000 ; // complier is happy allowed
What is reference ??

reference is a name that acts as an alias, or alternative name, for a previously

defined variable or an object.

prepending variable with "&" symbol makes it as reference.

for example:

int a;
int&b = a;

What is passing by reference?

Method of passing arguments to a function which takes parameter of type reference.

for example:

void swap( int& x, int& y )

{
int temp = x;
x = y;
y = temp;
}
int a=2, b=3;

swap( a, b );

Basically, inside the function there won't be any copy of the arguments "x" and "y"
instead they refer to original variables a and b. so no extra memory needed to pass
arguments and it is more efficient.

When do use "const" reference arguments in function?

a) Using const protects you against programming errors that inadvertently alter data.
b) Using const allows function to process both const and non-const actual
arguments, while a function without const in the prototype can only accept non
constant arguments.
c) Using a const reference allows the function to generate and use a temporary
variable appropriately.

When are temporary variables created by C++ compiler?

Provided that function parameter is a "const reference", compiler generates

temporary variable in following 2 ways.

a) The actual argument is the correct type, but it isn't Lvalue

double Cube(const double &num)

{
num = num * num * num;
return num;

double temp = 2.0;

double value = cube(3.0 + temp); // argument is a expression and not a Lvalue;

b) The actual argument is of the wrong type, but of a type that can be converted to
the correct type
long temp = 3L;
double value = cuberoot ( temp); // long to double conversion

What is virtual function?

When derived class overrides the base class method by redefining the same function,
then if client wants to access redefined the method from derived class through a
pointer from base class object, then you must define this function in base class as
virtual function.

class parent
{
void Show()
{
cout<< "i'm parent" <<endl;
}
};

class child: public parent

{
void Show()
{
cout<< "i'm child" <<endl;
}

};

parent * parent_object_ptr = new child;

parent_object_ptr->show() // calls parent->show() i

now we goto virtual world...

class parent
{
virtual void Show()
{
cout<< "i'm parent" <<endl;
}
};

class child: public parent

{
void Show()
{
cout<< "i'm child" <<endl;
}

};

parent * parent_object_ptr = new child;

parent_object_ptr->show() // calls child->show()

What is pure virtual function? or what is abstract class?

When you define only function prototype in a base class without implementation
and do the complete implementation in derived class. This base class is called
abstract class and client won't able to instantiate an object using this base class.

You can make a pure virtual function or abstract class this way..

class Boo
{
void foo() = 0;
}

Boo MyBoo; // compilation error

What is Memory alignment??

The term alignment primarily means the tendency of an address pointer value to be
a multiple of some power of two. So a pointer with two byte alignment has a zero in
the least significant bit. And a pointer with four byte alignment has a zero in both the
two least significant bits. And so on. More alignment means a longer sequence of
zero bits in the lowest bits of a pointer.
What problem does the namespace feature solve?

Multiple providers of libraries might use common global identifiers causing a name
collision when an application tries to link with two or more such libraries. The
namespace feature surrounds a library's external declarations with a unique
namespace that eliminates the potential for those collisions.

namespace [identifier] { namespace-body }

A namespace declaration identifies and assigns a name to a declarative region.

The identifier in a namespace declaration must be unique in the declarative region in
which it is used. The identifier is the name of the namespace and is used to reference
its members.
What is the use of 'using' declaration?

A using declaration makes it possible to use a name from a namespace without the
scope operator.
What is an Iterator class?

A class that is used to traverse through the objects maintained by a container class.
There are five categories of iterators: input iterators, output iterators, forward
iterators, bidirectional iterators, random access. An iterator is an entity that gives
access to the contents of a container object without violating encapsulation
constraints. Access to the contents is granted on a one-at-a-time basis in order. The
order can be storage order (as in lists and queues) or some arbitrary order (as in
array indices) or according to some ordering relation (as in an ordered binary tree).
The iterator is a construct, which provides an interface that, when called, yields
either the next element in the container, or some value denoting the fact that there
are no more elements to examine. Iterators hide the details of access to and update
of the elements of a container class. Something like a pointer.
What is a dangling pointer?
A dangling pointer arises when you use the address of an object after its lifetime is
over. This may occur in situations like returning addresses of the automatic variables
from a function or using the address of the memory block after it is freed.
What do you mean by Stack unwinding?

It is a process during exception handling when the destructor is called for all local
objects in the stack between the place where the exception was thrown and where it
is caught.

Name the operators that cannot be overloaded??

sizeof, ., .*, .->, ::, ?:

What is a container class? What are the types of container classes?

A container class is a class that is used to hold objects in memory or external storage.
A container class acts as a generic holder. A container class has a predefined
behavior and a well-known interface. A container class is a supporting class whose
purpose is to hide the topology used for maintaining the list of objects in memory.
When a container class contains a group of mixed objects, the container is called a
heterogeneous container; when the container is holding a group of objects that are
all the same, the container is called a homogeneous container.
What is inline function??

The __inline keyword tells the compiler to substitute the code within the function
definition for every instance of a function call. However, substitution occurs only at
the compiler's discretion. For example, the compiler does not inline a function if its
address is taken or if it is too large to inline.

What is overloading??

With the C++ language, you can overload functions and operators. Overloading is the
practice of supplying more than one definition for a given function name in the same
scope.

- Any two functions in a set of overloaded functions must have different argument
lists.
- Overloading functions with argument lists of the same types, based on return type
alone, is an error.
What is Overriding?

To override a method, a subclass of the class that originally declared the method
must declare a method with the same name, return type (or a subclass of that return
type), and same parameter list.
The definition of the method overriding is:
· Must have same method name.
· Must have same data type.
· Must have same argument list.
Overriding a method means that replacing a method functionality in child class. To
imply overriding functionality we need parent and child classes. In the child class you
define the same method signature as one defined in the parent class.
What is "this" pointer?

The this pointer is a pointer accessible only within the member functions of a class,
struct, or union type. It points to the object for which the member function is called.
Static member functions do not have a this pointer.

When a nonstatic member function is called for an object, the address of the object
is passed as a hidden argument to the function. For example, the following function
call

myDate.setMonth( 3 );

can be interpreted this way:

setMonth(&myDate, 3 );

The object's address is available from within the member function as the this
pointer. It is legal, though unnecessary, to use the this pointer when referring to
members of the class.
What happens when you make call "delete this;" ??

The code has two built-in pitfalls. First, if it executes in a member function for an
extern, static, or automatic object, the program will probably crash as soon as the
delete statement executes. There is no portable way for an object to tell that it was
instantiated on the heap, so the class cannot assert that its object is properly
instantiated. Second, when an object commits suicide this way, the using program
might not know about its demise. As far as the instantiating program is concerned,
the object remains in scope and continues to exist even though the object did itself
in. Subsequent dereferencing of the pointer can and usually does lead to disaster.

You should never do this. Since compiler does not know whether the object was
allocated on the stack or on the heap, "delete this" could cause a disaster.

How virtual functions are implemented C++?

Virtual functions are implemented using a table of function pointers, called the
vtable. There is one entry in the table per virtual function in the class. This table is
created by the constructor of the class. When a derived class is constructed, its base
class is constructed first which creates the vtable. If the derived class overrides any
of the base classes virtual functions, those entries in the vtable are overwritten by
the derived class constructor. This is why you should never call virtual functions
from a constructor: because the vtable entries for the object may not have been set
up by the derived class constructor yet, so you might end up calling base class
implementations of those virtual functions
What is name mangling in C++??

The process of encoding the parameter types with the function/method name into a
unique name is called name mangling. The inverse process is called demangling.

For example Foo::bar(int, long) const is mangled as `bar__C3Fooil'.

For a constructor, the method name is left out. That is Foo::Foo(int, long) const is
mangled as `__C3Fooil'.
What is the difference between a pointer and a reference?

A reference must always refer to some object and, therefore, must always be
initialized; pointers do not have such restrictions. A pointer can be reassigned to
point to different objects while a reference always refers to an object with which it
was initialized.

How are prefix and postfix versions of operator++() differentiated?

The postfix version of operator++() has a dummy parameter of type int. The prefix
version does not have dummy parameter.
What is the difference between const char *myPointer and char *constmyPointer?

Const char *myPointer is a non constant pointer to constant data; while char
*constmyPointer is a constant pointer to non constant data.
How can I handle a constructor that fails?

throw an exception. Constructors don't have a return type, so it's not possible to use
return codes. The best way to signal constructor failure is therefore to throw an
exception.
How can I handle a destructor that fails?

Write a message to a log-file. But do not throw an exception.

The C++ rule is that you must never throw an exception from a destructor that is
being called during the "stack unwinding" process of another exception. For
example, if someone says throw Foo(), the stack will be unwound so all the stack
frames between the throw Foo() and the } catch (Foo e) { will get popped. This is
called stack unwinding.
During stack unwinding, all the local objects in all those stack frames are destructed.
If one of those destructors throws an exception (say it throws a Bar object), the C++
runtime system is in a no-win situation: should it ignore the Bar and end up in the }
catch (Foo e) { where it was originally headed? Should it ignore the Foo and look for
a } catch (Bar e) { handler? There is no good answer -- either choice loses
information.
So the C++ language guarantees that it will call terminate() at this point, and
terminate() kills the process. Bang you're dead.
What is Virtual Destructor?

Using virtual destructors, you can destroy objects without knowing their type - the
correct destructor for the object is invoked using the virtual function mechanism.
Note that destructors can also be declared as pure virtual functions for abstract
classes.
if someone will derive from your class, and if someone will say "new Derived", where
"Derived" is derived from your class, and if someone will say delete p, where the
actual object's type is "Derived" but the pointer p's type is your class.

Can you think of a situation where your program would crash without reaching the breakpoint which
you set at the beginning of main()?

C++ allows for dynamic initialization of global variables before main() is invoked. It is
possible that initialization of global will invoke some function. If this function crashes
the crash will occur before main() is entered.
Name two cases where you MUST use initialization list as opposed to assignment in constructors.

Both non-static const data members and reference data members cannot be
assigned values; instead, you should use initialization list to initialize them.
Can you overload a function based only on whether a parameter is a value or a reference?

No. Passing by value and by reference looks identical to the caller.

What are the differences between a C++ struct and C++ class?

The default member and base class access specifiers are different.

The C++ struct has all the features of the class. The only differences are that a struct
defaults to public member access and public base class inheritance, and a class
defaults to the private access specifier and private base class inheritance.
What does extern "C" intfunc(int *, Foo) accomplish?

It will turn off "name mangling" for func so that one can link to code compiled by a C
compiler.
How do you access the static member of a class?

<ClassName>::<StaticMemberName>
What is multiple inheritance(virtual inheritance)? What are its advantages and disadvantages?

Multiple Inheritance is the process whereby a child can be derived from more than
one parent class. The advantage of multiple inheritance is that it allows a class to
inherit the functionality of more than one base class thus allowing for modeling of
complex relationships. The disadvantage of multiple inheritance is that it can lead to
a lot of confusion(ambiguity) when two base classes implement a method with the
same name.
What are the access privileges in C++? What is the default access level?

The access privileges in C++ are private, public and protected. The default access
level assigned to members of a class is private. Private members of a class are
accessible only within the class and by friends of the class. Protected members are
accessible by the class itself and it's sub-classes. Public members of a class can be
accessed by anyone.
What is a nested class? Why can it be useful?

A nested class is a class enclosed within the scope of another class. For example:

// Example 1: Nested class

//
class OuterClass
{
class NestedClass
{
// ...
};
// ...
};
Nested classes are useful for organizing code and controlling access and
dependencies. Nested classes obey access rules just like other parts of a class do; so,
in Example 1, if NestedClass is public then any code can name it as
OuterClass::NestedClass. Often nested classes contain private implementation
details, and are therefore made private; in Example 1, if NestedClass is private, then
only OuterClass's members and friends can use NestedClass.

When you instantiate as outer class, it won't instantiate inside class.

What is a local class? Why can it be useful?
local class is a class defined within the scope of a function -- any function, whether a
member function or a free function. For example:

// Example 2: Local class

//
int f()
{
class LocalClass
{
// ...
};
// ...
};
Like nested classes, local classes can be a useful tool for managing code
dependencies.

Can a copy constructor accept an object of the same class as parameter, instead of reference of the
object?

No. It is specified in the definition of the copy constructor itself. It should generate
an error if a programmer specifies a copy constructor with a first argument that is an
object and not a reference.
41. Name the operators that cannot be overloaded?

Ans: sizeof, ., .*, .->, ::, ?:

42. What is an adaptor class or Wrapper class?

Ans: A class that has no functionality of its own. Its member functions hide the use of a third
party software component or an object with the non-compatible interface or a non-object-
oriented implementation.

43. What is a Null object?

Ans: It is an object of some class whose purpose is to indicate that a real object of that class does
not exist. One common use for a null object is a return value from a member function that is
supposed to return an object with some specified properties but cannot find such an object.

44. What is class invariant?

Ans: A class invariant is a condition that defines all valid states for an object. It is a logical
condition to ensure the correct working of a class. Class invariants must hold when an object is
created, and they must be preserved under all operations of the class. In particular all class
invariants are both preconditions and post-conditions for all operations or member functions of
the class.

45. What is a dangling pointer?

Ans: A dangling pointer arises when you use the address of an object after its lifetime is over.
This may occur in situations like returning addresses of the automatic variables from a function
or using the address of the memory block after it is freed. Example: The following code snippet
shows this:

class Sample

public:

int *ptr;

Sample(int i)

ptr = new int(i);

~Sample()

deleteptr;

}
voidPrintVal()

cout<< “The value is ” << *ptr;

};

voidSomeFunc(Sample x)

cout<< “Say i am in someFunc ” <<endl;

int main()

Sample s1= 10;

SomeFunc(s1);

s1.PrintVal();

In the above example when PrintVal() function is called it is called by the pointer that has been
freed by the destructor in SomeFunc.

46. Differentiate between the message and method?

Ans:

Message:

Objects communicate by sending messages to each other.

A message is sent to invoke a method.

Method

Provides response to a message and it is an implementation of an operation

47. How can we access protected and private members of a class?

Ans: In the case of members protected and private, these could not be accessed from outside the
same class at which they are declared. This rule can be transgressed with the use of the friend
keyword in a class, so we can allow an external function to gain access to the protected and
private members of a class.

48. Can you handle exception in C++?

Ans: Yes we can handle exception in C++ using keyword: try, catch and throw. Program
statements that we want to monitor for exceptions are contained in a try block. If an exception
occurs within the try block, it is thrown (using throw).The exception is caught, using catch, and
processed.

49. What is virtual function?

Ans: A virtual function is a member function that is declared within a base class and

redefined by a derived class .To create a virtual function, the function declaration in the base
class is preceded by the keyword virtual.

50. What do you mean by early binding?

Ans:Early binding refers to the events that occur at compile time. Early binding occurs when

all information needed to call a function is known at compile time. Examples of early binding
include normal function calls, overloaded function calls, and overloaded operators. The
advantage of early binding is efficiency.

51. What do you mean by late binding?

Ans: Late binding refers to function calls that are not resolved until run time. Virtual functions
are used to achieve late binding. When access is via a base pointer or reference, the virtual
function actually called is determined by the type of object pointed to by the pointer.
31. What problem does the namespace feature solve?

Ans: Multiple providers of libraries might use common global identifiers causing a name
collision when an application tries to link with two or more such libraries. The namespace
feature surrounds a library’s external declarations with a unique namespace that eliminates the
potential for those collisions. This solution assumes that two library vendors don’t use the same
namespace identifier, of course.

32. What is the use of ‘using’ declaration?

Ans: A using declaration makes it possible to use a name from a namespace

33. What is a template?

Ans: Templates allow us to create generic functions that admit any data type as parameters and
return a value without having to overload the function with all the possible data types. Until
certain point they fulfill the functionality of a macro. Its prototype is any of the two following
ones:

templatefunction_declaration;

templatefunction_declaration;

34. Differentiate between a template class and class template?

Ans:

Template class:

A generic definition or a parameterized class not instantiated until the client provides the needed
information. It’s jargon for plain templates.

Class template:

A class template specifies how individual classes can be constructed much like the way a class
specifies how individual objects can be constructed. It’s jargon for plain classes.
35. What is the difference between a copy constructor and an overloaded assignment operator?

Ans: A copy constructor constructs a new object by using the content of the argument object. An
overloaded assignment operator assigns the contents of an existing object to another existing
object of the same class.

36. What is a virtual destructor?

Ans: The simple answer is that a virtual destructor is one that is declared with the virtual
attribute.

37. What is an incomplete type?

Ans: Incomplete type refers to pointers in which there is non availability of the implementation
of the referenced location or it points to some location whose value is not available for
modification.

Example:

int *i=0×400 // i points to address 400

*i=0; //set the value of memory location pointed by i.

Incomplete types are otherwise called uninitialized pointers.

38. What do you mean by Stack unwinding?

Ans: It is a process during exception handling when the destructor is called for all local objects
between the place where the exception was thrown and where it is caught.

39. What is a container class? What are the types of container classes?

Ans: A container class is a class that is used to hold objects in memory or external storage. A
container class acts as a generic holder. A container class has a predefined behavior and a well-
known interface. A container class is a supporting class whose purpose is to hide the topology
used for maintaining the list of objects in memory. When a container class contains a group of
mixed objects, the container is called a heterogeneous container; when the container is holding a
group of objects that are all the same, the container is called a homogeneous container

40. Name some pure object oriented languages?

Ans: Smalltalk, Java, Eiffel, Sather.

21 What is the difference between a NULL pointer and a void pointer?

Ans: A NULL pointer is a pointer of any type whose value is zero. A void pointer is a pointer to
an object of an unknown type, and is guaranteed to have enough bits to hold a pointer to any
object. A void pointer is not guaranteed to have enough bits to point to a function (though in
general practice it does).

22. What is difference between C++ and Java?

Ans: C++ has pointers Java does not.

Java is platform independent C++ is not.

Java has garbage collection C++ does not.

23. What do you mean by multiple inheritance in C++ ?

Ans: Multiple inheritance is a feature in C++ by which one class can be of different types. Say
class teaching Assistant is inherited from two classes say teacher and Student.

24. What do you mean by virtual methods?

Ans: virtual methods are used to use the polymorphism feature in C++. Say class A is inherited
from class B. If we declare say function f() as virtual in class B and override the same function in
class A then at runtime appropriate method of the class will be called depending upon the type of
the object.
25. What do you mean by static methods?

Ans: By using the static method there is no need creating an object of that class to use that
method. We can directly call that method on that class. For example, say class A has static
function f(), then we can call f() function as A.f(). There is no need of creating an object of class
A.

26. How many ways are there to initialize an int with a constant?

Ans: Two.

There are two formats for initializers in C++ as shown in the example that follows. The first
format uses the traditional C notation. The second format uses constructor notation.

int foo = 123;

int bar (123);

27. What is a constructor?

Ans: Constructor is a special member function of a class, which is invoked automatically

whenever an instance of the class is created. It has the same name as its class.

28. What is destructor?

Ans: Destructor is a special member function of a class, which is invoked automatically

whenever an object goes out of the scope. It has the same name as its class with a tilde character
prefixed.

29. What is an explicit constructor?

Ans: A conversion constructor declared with the explicit keyword. The compiler does not use an
explicit constructor to implement an implied conversion of types. It’s purpose is reserved
explicitly for construction.
30 What is the Standard Template Library?

Ans: A library of container templates approved by the ANSI committee for inclusion in the
standard C++ specification. A programmer who then launches into a discussion of the generic
programming model, iterators, allocators, algorithms, and such, has a higher than average
understanding of the new technology that STL brings to C++ programming.

11. What is abstraction?

Ans: The technique of creating user-defined data types, having the properties of built-in data
types and a set of permitted operators that are well suited to the application to be programmed is
known as data abstraction. Class is a construct for abstract data types (ADT).

12. What is encapsulation?

Ans: It is the mechanism that wraps the data and function it manipulates into single unit and
keeps it safe from external interference.

13. How variable declaration in c++ differs that in c?

Ans: C requires all the variables to be declared at the beginning of a scope but in c++ we can
declare variables anywhere in the scope. This makes the programmer easier to understand
because the variables are declared in the context of their use.

14. What are the c++ tokens?

Ans: c++ has the following tokens

I. keywords

II. Identifiers

III. Constants

IV. Strings

V. operators
15. What do you mean by reference variable in c++?

Ans: A reference variable provides an alias to a previously defined variable.

Data type & reference-name = variable name

16. What do you mean by implicit conversion?

Ans: Whenever data types are mixed in an expression then c++ performs the conversion
automatically.

Here smaller type is converted to wider type.

Example- in case of integer and float integer is converted into float type.

17. What is the difference between method overloading and method overriding?

Ans: Overloading a method (or function) in C++ is the ability for functions of the same name to
be defined as long as these methods have different signatures (different set of parameters).
Method overriding is the ability of the inherited class rewriting the virtual method of the base
class.

18. What are the defining traits of an object-oriented language?

The defining traits of an object-oriented language are:

encapsulation

inheritance

polymorphism

Ans:

Polymorphism: is a feature of OOPL that at run time depending upon the type of object the
appropriate method is called.
Inheritance: is a feature of OOPL that represents the “is a” relationship between different objects
(classes). Say in real life a manager is a employee. So in OOPL manger class is inherited from
the employee class.

Encapsulation: is a feature of OOPL that is used to hide the information.

19. What is polymorphism?

Ans: Polymorphism is the idea that a base class can be inherited by several classes. A base class
pointer can point to its child class and a base class array can store different child class objects.

20. What do you mean by inline function?

Ans: An inline function is a function that is expanded inline when invoked.ie. the compiler
replaces the function call with the corresponding function code. An inline function is a function
that is expanded in line when it is invoked. That is the compiler replaces the function call with
the corresponding function code (similar to macro).

OOPS viva questions

1. What is a class?

Ans: The objects with the same data structure (attributes) and behavior (operations) are called
class.

2. What is an object?

Ans: It is an entity which may correspond to real-world entities such as students, employees,
bank account. It may be concrete such as file system or conceptual such as scheduling policies in
multiprocessor operating system.

Every object will have data structures called attributes and behavior called operations.

3. What is the difference between an object and a class?

Ans: All objects possessing similar properties are grouped into class.

Example :–person is a class, ram, hari are objects of person class. All have similar attributes like
name, age, sex and similar operations like speak, walk.

Class person

private:

char name[20];

int age;

char sex;

public: speak();

walk();

};

4. What is the difference between class and structure?

Ans: In class the data members by default are private but in structure they are by default public

5. Define object based programming language?

Ans: Object based programming language support encapsulation and object identity without
supporting some important features of OOPs language.

Object based language=Encapsulation + object Identity

6. Define object oriented language?

Ans: Object-oriented language incorporates all the features of object based programming
languages along with inheritance and polymorphism.

Example: – c++, java.

7. Define OOPs?

Ans: OOP is a method of implementation in which programs are organized as co-operative

collection of objects, each of which represents an instance of some class and whose classes are
all member of a hierarchy of classes united through the property of inheritance.

8. What is public, protected, and private?

Ans: These are access specifier or a visibility lebels .The class member that has been declared as
private can be accessed only from within the class. Public members can be accessed from outside
the class also. Within the class or from the object of a class protected access limit is same as that
of private but it plays a prominent role in case of inheritance

9. What is a scope resolution operator?

Ans: The scope resolution operator permits a program to reference an identifier in the global
scope that has been hidden by another identifier with the same name in the local scope.

10. What do you mean by inheritance?

Ans: The mechanism of deriving a new class (derived) from an old class (base class) is called
inheritance. It allows the extension and reuse of existing code without having to rewrite the code
from scratch.