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Index
 C++ Introduction
 C++ Variables
 C++ Data Types
 C++ Operators
 String Concatenation
 User Input Strings
 C++ Math Functions
 C++ Conditions and If Statements
 C++ Loops
 C++ Arrays
 C++ Structures
 Creating Pointers
 C++ Functions
 Function Overloading
 Recursion
 C++ What is OOP?
 C++ Files
 C++ Exceptions
 Operator Overloading

1
C++ Introduction
What is C++?
C++ is a cross-platform language that can be used to create high-performance
applications.

C++ was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup, as an extension to the C language.

C++ gives programmers a high level of control over system resources and
memory.

The language was updated 4 major times in 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2020 to
C++11, C++14, C++17, C++20.

Why Use C++

C++ is one of the world's most popular programming languages.

C++ can be found in today's operating systems, Graphical User Interfaces, and
embedded systems.

C++ is an object-oriented programming language which gives a clear structure to

programs and allows code to be reused, lowering development costs.

C++ is portable and can be used to develop applications that can be adapted to
multiple platforms.

C++ is fun and easy to learn!

As C++ is close to C, C# and Java, it makes it easy for programmers to switch to

C++ or vice versa.

Difference between C and C++

C++ was developed as an extension of C, and both languages have almost the
same syntax.

The main difference between C and C++ is that C++ support classes and objects,
while C does not.

Get Started
This tutorial will teach you the basics of C++.

It is not necessary to have any prior programming experience.

To start using C++, you need two things:

2
  A text editor, like Notepad, to write C++ code
 A compiler, like GCC, to translate the C++ code into a language that the
computer will understand

There are many text editors and compilers to choose from. In this tutorial, we will
use an IDE (see below).

C++ Install IDE

An IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is used to edit AND compile the
code.

Popular IDE's include Code::Blocks, Eclipse, and Visual Studio. These are all free,
and they can be used to both edit and debug C++ code.

Note: Web-based IDE's can work as well, but functionality is limited.

We will use Code::Blocks in our tutorial, which we believe is a good place to start.

You can find the latest version of Codeblocks at http://www.codeblocks.org/.

Download the mingw-setup.exe file, which will install the text editor with a compiler.

C++ Quickstart
Let's create our first C++ file.

Open Codeblocks and go to File > New > Empty File.

Write the following C++ code and save the file as myfirstprogram.cpp (File > Save
File as):

myfirstprogram.cpp
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
cout << "Hello World!";
return 0;
}

Don't worry if you don't understand the code above - we will discuss it in detail in
later chapters. For now, focus on how to run the code.

In Codeblocks, it should look like this:

3
Then, go to Build > Build and Run to run (execute) the program. The result will
look something to this:

Hello World!
Process returned 0 (0x0) execution time : 0.011 s
Press any key to continue.

Congratulations! You have now written and executed your first C++ program.

C++ Syntax
C++ Syntax
Let's break up the following code to understand it better:

Example
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
cout << "Hello World!";
return 0;
}

Example explained
Line 1: #include <iostream> is a header file library that lets us work with input and
output objects, such as cout (used in line 5). Header files add functionality to C++
programs.

Line 2: using namespace std means that we can use names for objects and variables
from the standard library.

4
Don't worry if you don't understand how #include <iostream> and using namespace
std works. Just think of it as something that (almost) always appears in your
program.

Line 3: A blank line. C++ ignores white space. But we use it to make the code
more readable.

Line 4: Another thing that always appear in a C++ program, is int main(). This is
called a function. Any code inside its curly brackets {} will be executed.

Line 5: cout (pronounced "see-out") is an object used together with the insertion
operator (<<) to output/print text. In our example it will output "Hello World!".

Note: Every C++ statement ends with a semicolon ;.

Note: The body of int main() could also been written as:
int main () { cout << "Hello World! "; return 0; }

Remember: The compiler ignores white spaces. However, multiple lines makes the
code more readable.

Line 6: return 0 ends the main function.

Line 7: Do not forget to add the closing curly bracket } to actually end the main
function.

Omitting Namespace
You might see some C++ programs that runs without the standard namespace
library. The using namespace std line can be omitted and replaced with
the std keyword, followed by the :: operator for some objects:

Example
#include <iostream>

int main() {
std::cout << "Hello World!";
return 0;
}

It is up to you if you want to include the standard namespace library or not.

C++ Output (Print Text)

The cout object, together with the << operator, is used to output values/print text:

Example
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

5
int main() {
cout << "Hello World!";
return 0;
}

You can add as many cout objects as you want. However, note that it does not
insert a new line at the end of the output:

Example
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
cout << "Hello World!";
cout << "I am learning C++";
return 0;
}

New Lines
To insert a new line, you can use the \n character:

Example
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
cout << "Hello World! \n";
cout << "I am learning C++";
return 0;
}

Tip: Two \n characters after each other will create a blank line:

Example
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
cout << "Hello World! \n\n";
cout << "I am learning C++";
return 0;
}

Another way to insert a new line, is with the endl manipulator:

6
Example
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
cout << "Hello World!" << endl;
cout << "I am learning C++";
return 0;
}

Both \n and endl are used to break lines. However, \n is most used.

But what is \n exactly?

The newline character (\n) is called an escape sequence, and it forces the cursor
to change its position to the beginning of the next line on the screen. This results in
a new line.

Examples of other valid escape sequences are:

Escape Sequence Description

\t Creates a horizontal tab

\\ Inserts a backslash character (\)

\" Inserts a double quote character

C++ Comments
Comments can be used to explain C++ code, and to make it more readable. It can
also be used to prevent execution when testing alternative code. Comments can be
singled-lined or multi-lined.

Single-line comments start with two forward slashes (//).

Any text between // and the end of the line is ignored by the compiler (will not be
executed).

Multi-line comments start with /* and ends with */.

Any text between /* and */ will be ignored by the compiler:

C++ Variables
Variables are containers for storing data values.

In C++, there are different types of variables (defined with different keywords),
for example:

7
  int - stores integers (whole numbers), without decimals, such as 123 or -
123
 double - stores floating point numbers, with decimals, such as 19.99 or -
19.99
 char - stores single characters, such as 'a' or 'B'. Char values are surrounded
by single quotes
 string - stores text, such as "Hello World". String values are surrounded by
double quotes
 bool - stores values with two states: true or false

Declaring (Creating) Variables

To create a variable, specify the type and assign it a value:

Syntax
type variableName = value;

Where type is one of C++ types (such as int), and variableName is the name of
the variable (such as x or myName). The equal sign is used to assign values to
the variable.

To create a variable that should store a number, look at the following example:

Example
Create a variable called myNum of type int and assign it the value 15:

int myNum = 15;

cout << myNum;

You can also declare a variable without assigning the value, and assign the value
later:

Example
int myNum;
myNum = 15;
cout << myNum;

Note that if you assign a new value to an existing variable, it will overwrite the
previous value:

Example
int myNum = 15; // myNum is 15
myNum = 10; // Now myNum is 10
cout << myNum; // Outputs 10

Other Types

8
A demonstration of other data types:

Example
int myNum = 5; // Integer (whole number without decimals)
double myFloatNum = 5.99; // Floating point number (with decimals)
char myLetter = 'D'; // Character
string myText = "Hello"; // String (text)
bool myBoolean = true; // Boolean (true or false)

Display Variables
The cout object is used together with the << operator to display variables.

To combine both text and a variable, separate them with the << operator:

Example
int myAge = 35;
cout << "I am " << myAge << " years old.";

Declare Many Variables

To declare more than one variable of the same type, use a comma-separated list:

Example
int x = 5, y = 6, z = 50;
cout << x + y + z;

One Value to Multiple Variables

You can also assign the same value to multiple variables in one line:

Example
int x, y, z;
x = y = z = 50;
cout << x + y + z;

Token
When the compiler is processing the source code of a C++ program, each group of
characters separated by white space is called a token. Tokens are the smallest
individual units in a program. A C++ program is written using tokens. It has the
following tokens:

9
Keywords
Keywords (also known as reserved words) have special meanings to the C++
compiler and are always written or typed in short (lower) cases. Keywords are
words that the language uses for a special purpose, such as void, int, public, etc. It
can’t be used for a variable name or function name or any other identifiers. The
total count of reserved keywords is 95. Below is the table for some commonly used
C++ keywords.

C++ Identifiers
All C++ variables must be identified with unique names.

These unique names are called identifiers.

Identifiers can be short names (like x and y) or more descriptive names (age, sum,
totalVolume).

Note: It is recommended to use descriptive names in order to create

understandable and maintainable code:

10
Example
// Good
int minutesPerHour = 60;

// OK, but not so easy to understand what m actually is

int m = 60;

The general rules for naming variables are:

 Names can contain letters, digits and underscores

 Names must begin with a letter or an underscore (_)
 Names are case-sensitive (myVar and myvar are different variables)
 Names cannot contain whitespaces or special characters like !, #, %, etc.
 Reserved words (like C++ keywords, such as int) cannot be used as names

Constants
When you do not want others (or yourself) to change existing variable values, use
the const keyword (this will declare the variable as "constant", which
means unchangeable and read-only):

Example
const int myNum = 15; // myNum will always be 15
myNum = 10; // error: assignment of read-only variable 'myNum'

You should always declare the variable as constant when you have values that are
unlikely to change:

Example
const int minutesPerHour = 60;
const float PI = 3.14;

When you declare a constant variable, it must be assigned with a value:

Example
Like this:

const int minutesPerHour = 60;

This however, will not work:

const int minutesPerHour;

minutesPerHour = 60; // error

The constant variables in c are immutable after its definition, i.e., they can be
initialized only once in the whole program. After that, we cannot modify the value
stored inside that variable.

11
C++ User Input
You have already learned that cout is used to output (print) values. Now we will
use cin to get user input.

cin is a predefined variable that reads data from the keyboard with the extraction
operator (>>).

In the following example, the user can input a number, which is stored in the
variable x. Then we print the value of x:

Example
int x;
cout << "Type a number: "; // Type a number and press enter
cin >> x; // Get user input from the keyboard
cout << "Your number is: " << x; // Display the input value

Good To Know
cout is pronounced "see-out". Used for output, and uses the insertion operator (<<)

cin is pronounced "see-in". Used for input, and uses the extraction operator (>>)

Creating a Simple Calculator

In this example, the user must input two numbers. Then we print the sum by
calculating (adding) the two numbers:

Example
int x, y;
int sum;
cout << "Type a number: ";
cin >> x;
cout << "Type another number: ";
cin >> y;
sum = x + y;
cout << "Sum is: " << sum;

C++ Data Types

As explained in the Variables chapter, a variable in C++ must be a specified data
type:

Example
int myNum = 5; // Integer (whole number)
float myFloatNum = 5.99; // Floating point number

12
double myDoubleNum = 9.98; // Floating point number
char myLetter = 'D'; // Character
bool myBoolean = true; // Boolean
string myText = "Hello"; // String

Basic Data Types

The data type specifies the size and type of information the variable will store:

Data Type Size Description

boolean 1 byte Stores true or false values

char 1 byte Stores a single character/letter/number, or ASCII values

int 2 or 4 bytes Stores whole numbers, without decimals

float 4 bytes Stores fractional numbers, containing one or more decimals. Sufficient
for storing 6-7 decimal digits

double 8 bytes Stores fractional numbers, containing one or more decimals. Sufficient
for storing 15 decimal digits

Numeric Types
Use int when you need to store a whole number without decimals, like 35 or 1000,
and float or double when you need a floating point number (with decimals), like
9.99 or 3.14515.

int
int myNum = 1000;
cout << myNum;

float
float myNum = 5.75;
cout << myNum;

double
double myNum = 19.99;
cout << myNum;

float vs. double

The precision of a floating point value indicates how many digits the value can
have after the decimal point. The precision of float is only six or seven decimal
digits, while double variables have a precision of about 15 digits. Therefore it is
safer to use double for most calculations.

13
Boolean Types
A boolean data type is declared with the bool keyword and can only take the
values true or false.

When the value is returned, true = 1 and false = 0.

Example
bool isCodingFun = true;
bool isFishTasty = false;
cout << isCodingFun; // Outputs 1 (true)
cout << isFishTasty; // Outputs 0 (false)

Character Types
The char data type is used to store a single character. The character must be
surrounded by single quotes, like 'A' or 'c':

Example
char myGrade = 'B';
cout << myGrade;

Alternatively, if you are familiar with ASCII, you can use ASCII values to display
certain characters:

Example
char a = 65, b = 66, c = 67;
cout << a;
cout << b;
cout << c;

String Types
The string type is used to store a sequence of characters (text). This is not a built-
in type, but it behaves like one in its most basic usage. String values must be
surrounded by double quotes:

Example
string greeting = "Hello";
cout << greeting;

To use strings, you must include an additional header file in the source code,
the <string> library:

14
Example
// Include the string library
#include <string>

// Create a string variable

string greeting = "Hello";

// Output string value

cout << greeting;

C++ Operators
An operator is a symbol that operates on a value to perform specific mathematical
or logical computations. They form the foundation of any programming language.
In C++, we have built-in operators to provide the required functionality.

An operator operates the operands.

In the example below, we use the + operator to add together two values:

Example
int x = 100 + 50;

Although the + operator is often used to add together two values, like in the
example above, it can also be used to add together a variable and a value, or a
variable and another variable:

Example
int sum1 = 100 + 50; // 150 (100 + 50)
int sum2 = sum1 + 250; // 400 (150 + 250)
int sum3 = sum2 + sum2; // 800 (400 + 400)

C++ divides the operators into the following groups:

1. Arithmetic Operators

2. Relational Operators

3. Logical Operators

4. Bitwise Operators

5. Assignment Operators

6. Ternary or Conditional Operators

Arithmetic Operators

15
Arithmetic operators are used to perform common mathematical operations.

Operator Name Description Example

+ Addition Adds together two values x+y

- Subtraction Subtracts one value from another x-y

* Multiplication Multiplies two values x*y

/ Division Divides one value by another x/y

% Modulus Returns the division remainder x%y

++ Increment Increases the value of a variable by 1 ++x

-- Decrement Decreases the value of a variable by 1 --x

Assignment Operators
Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables.

In the example below, we use the assignment operator (=) to assign the
value 10 to a variable called x:

Example
int x = 10;

The addition assignment operator (+=) adds a value to a variable:

Example
int x = 10;
x += 5;

A list of all assignment operators:

Operator Example Same As

= x=5 x=5

+= x += 3 x=x+3

-= x -= 3 x=x-3

*= x *= 3 x=x*3

/= x /= 3 x=x/3

%= x %= 3 x=x%3

&= x &= 3 x=x&3

16
 |= x |= 3 x=x|3

^= x ^= 3 x=x^3

>>= x >>= 3 x = x >> 3

<<= x <<= 3 x = x << 3

Comparison Operators
Comparison operators are used to compare two values (or variables). This is
important in programming, because it helps us to find answers and make decisions.

The return value of a comparison is either 1 or 0, which means true (1)

or false (0). These values are known as Boolean values, and you will learn more
about them in the Booleans and If..Else chapter.

In the following example, we use the greater than operator (>) to find out if 5 is
greater than 3:

Example
int x = 5;
int y = 3;
cout << (x > y); // returns 1 (true) because 5 is greater than 3

A list of all comparison operators:

Operator Name Example

== Equal to x == y

!= Not equal x != y

> Greater than x>y

< Less than x<y

>= Greater than or equal to x >= y

<= Less than or equal to x <= y

Logical Operators
As with comparison operators, you can also test for true (1) or false (0) values
with logical operators.

Logical operators are used to determine the logic between variables or values:

Operator Name Description Example

17
 && Logical and Returns true if both statements are true x < 5 && x < 10

|| Logical or Returns true if one of the statements is true x < 5 || x < 4

! Logical not Reverse the result, returns false if the result is true !(x < 5 && x < 10)

Bitwise Operators
Bitwise Operators are the operators that are used to perform operations on the bit
level on the integers. While performing this operation integers are considered as
sequences of binary digits. In C++, we have various types of Bitwise Operators.

1. Bitwise AND (&)

2. Bitwise OR (|)
3. Bitwise XOR (^)
4. Bitwise NOT (~)
5. Left Shift (<<)
6. Right Shift (>>)

// C++ Program to demonstrate

// Bitwise Operator
#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

// Main function
int main()
{
int a = 5; // 101
int b = 3; // 011

// Bitwise AND
int bitwise_and = a & b;

// Bitwise OR
int bitwise_or = a | b;

// Bitwise XOR
int bitwise_xor = a ^ b;

// Bitwise NOT
int bitwise_not = ~a;

// Bitwise Left Shift

int left_shift = a << 2;

// Bitwise Right Shift

int right_shift = a >> 1;

// Printing the Results of

// Bitwise Operators
cout << "AND: " << bitwise_and << endl;
cout << "OR: " << bitwise_or << endl;
cout << "XOR: " << bitwise_xor << endl;
cout << "NOT a: " << bitwise_not << endl;

18
 cout << "Left Shift: " << left_shift << endl;
cout << "Right Shift: " << right_shift << endl;

return 0;
}
Output:
AND: 1
OR: 7
XOR: 6
NOT a: -6
Left Shift: 20
Right Shift: 2

String Concatenation
The + operator can be used between strings to add them together to make a new
string. This is called concatenation:

Example
string firstName = "John ";
string lastName = "Doe";
string fullName = firstName + lastName;
cout << fullName;

In the example above, we added a space after firstName to create a space between
John and Doe on output. However, you could also add a space with quotes (" " or '
'):

Example
string firstName = "John";
string lastName = "Doe";
string fullName = firstName + " " + lastName;
cout << fullName;

Append
A string in C++ is actually an object, which contain functions that can perform
certain operations on strings. For example, you can also concatenate strings with
the append() function:

Example
string firstName = "John ";
string lastName = "Doe";
string fullName = firstName.append(lastName);
cout << fullName;

Adding Numbers and Strings

19
WARNING!

C++ uses the + operator for both addition and concatenation.

Numbers are added. Strings are concatenated.

If you add two numbers, the result will be a number:

Example
int x = 10;
int y = 20;
int z = x + y; // z will be 30 (an integer)

If you add two strings, the result will be a string concatenation:

Example
string x = "10";
string y = "20";
string z = x + y; // z will be 1020 (a string)

If you try to add a number to a string, an error occurs:

Example
string x = "10";
int y = 20;
string z = x + y;

String Length
To get the length of a string, use the length() function:

Example
string txt = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ";
cout << "The length of the txt string is: " << txt.length();

Tip: You might see some C++ programs that use the size() function to get the
length of a string. This is just an alias of length(). It is completely up to you if you
want to use length() or size():

Example
string txt = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ";
cout << "The length of the txt string is: " << txt.size();

Access Strings
You can access the characters in a string by referring to its index number inside
square brackets [].

20
This example prints the first character in myString:

Example
string myString = "Hello";
cout << myString[0];
// Outputs H

Note: String indexes start with 0: [0] is the first character. [1] is the second
character, etc.

This example prints the second character in myString:

Example
string myString = "Hello";
cout << myString[1];
// Outputs e

Change String Characters

To change the value of a specific character in a string, refer to the index number,
and use single quotes:

Example
string myString = "Hello";
myString[0] = 'J';
cout << myString;
// Outputs Jello instead of Hello

Strings - Special Characters

Because strings must be written within quotes, C++ will misunderstand this string,
and generate an error:

string txt = "We are the so-called "Vikings" from the north.";

The solution to avoid this problem, is to use the backslash escape character.

The backslash (\) escape character turns special characters into string characters:

Escape character Result Description

\' ' Single quote

\" " Double quote

\\ \ Backslash

21
The sequence \" inserts a double quote in a string:

Example
string txt = "We are the so-called \"Vikings\" from the north.";

The sequence \' inserts a single quote in a string:

Example
string txt = "It\'s alright.";

The sequence \\ inserts a single backslash in a string:

Example
string txt = "The character \\ is called backslash.";

User Input Strings

It is possible to use the extraction operator >> on cin to store a string entered by a
user:

Example
string firstName;
cout << "Type your first name: ";
cin >> firstName; // get user input from the keyboard
cout << "Your name is: " << firstName;

// Type your first name: John

// Your name is: John

However, cin considers a space (whitespace, tabs, etc) as a terminating character,

which means that it can only store a single word (even if you type many words):

Example
string fullName;
cout << "Type your full name: ";
cin >> fullName;
cout << "Your name is: " << fullName;

// Type your full name: John Doe

// Your name is: John

From the example above, you would expect the program to print "John Doe", but it
only prints "John".

22
That's why, when working with strings, we often use the getline() function to read
a line of text. It takes cin as the first parameter, and the string variable as second:

Example
string fullName;
cout << "Type your full name: ";
getline (cin, fullName);
cout << "Your name is: " << fullName;

// Type your full name: John Doe

// Your name is: John Doe

C++ Math
C++ has many functions that allows you to perform mathematical tasks on
numbers.

Max and min

The max(x,y) function can be used to find the highest value of x and y:

Example
cout << max(5, 10);

And the min(x,y) function can be used to find the lowest value of x and y:

Example
cout << min(5, 10);

C++ <cmath> Header

Other functions, such as sqrt (square root), round (rounds a number)
and log (natural logarithm), can be found in the <cmath> header file:

Example
// Include the cmath library
#include <cmath>

cout << sqrt(64);

cout << round(2.6);
cout << log(2);

C++ Math Functions

23
The <cmath> library has many functions that allow you to perform mathematical
tasks on numbers.

A list of all math functions can be found in the table below:

Function Description

abs(x) Returns the absolute value of x

acos(x) Returns the arccosine of x, in radians

acosh(x) Returns the hyperbolic arccosine of x

asin(x) Returns the arcsine of x, in radians

asinh(x) Returns the hyperbolic arcsine of x

atan(x) Returns the arctangent of x as a numeric value between -PI/2

and PI/2 radians

atan2(y, x) Returns the angle theta from the conversion of rectangular

coordinates (x, y) to polar coordinates (r, theta)

atanh(x) Returns the hyperbolic arctangent of x

cbrt(x) Returns the cube root of x

ceil(x) Returns the value of x rounded up to its nearest integer

copysign(x, Returns the first floating point x with the sign of the second
y) floating point y

cos(x) Returns the cosine of x (x is in radians)

cosh(x) Returns the hyperbolic cosine of x

exp(x) Returns the value of Ex

exp2(x) Returns the value of 2x

expm1(x) Returns ex-1

erf(x) Returns the value of the error function at x

erfc(x) Returns the value of the complementary error function at x

fabs(x) Returns the absolute value of a floating x

fdim(x) Returns the positive difference between x and y

floor(x) Returns the value of x rounded down to its nearest integer

fma(x, y, z) Returns x*y+z without losing precision

fmax(x, y) Returns the highest value of a floating x and y

24
fmin(x, y) Returns the lowest value of a floating x and y

fmod(x, y) Returns the floating point remainder of x/y

frexp(x, y) With x expressed as m*2n, returns the value of m (a value

between 0.5 and 1.0) and writes the value of n to the memory
at the pointer y

hypot(x, y) Returns sqrt(x2 +y2) without intermediate overflow or underflow

ilogb(x) Returns the integer part of the floating-point base logarithm of

x

ldexp(x, y) Returns x*2y

lgamma(x) Returns the logarithm of the absolute value of the gamma

function at x

llrint(x) Rounds x to a nearby integer and returns the result as a long

long integer

llround(x) Rounds x to the nearest integer and returns the result as a long
long integer

log(x) Returns the natural logarithm of x

log10(x) Returns the base 10 logarithm of x

log1p(x) Returns the natural logarithm of x+1

log2(x) Returns the base 2 logarithm of the absolute value of x

logb(x) Returns the floating-point base logarithm of the absolute value

of x

lrint(x) Rounds x to a nearby integer and returns the result as a long

integer

lround(x) Rounds x to the nearest integer and returns the result as a long
integer

modf(x, y) Returns the decimal part of x and writes the integer part to the
memory at the pointer y

nan(s) Returns a NaN (Not a Number) value

nearbyint(x) Returns x rounded to a nearby integer

nextafter(x, Returns the closest floating point number to x in the direction of

y) y

nexttoward(x, Returns the closest floating point number to x in the direction of

y) y

pow(x, y) Returns the value of x to the power of y

25
 remainder(x, Return the remainder of x/y rounded to the nearest integer
y)

remquo(x, y, Calculates x/y rounded to the nearest integer, writes the result
z) to the memory at the pointer z and returns the remainder.

rint(x) Returns x rounded to a nearby integer

round(x) Returns x rounded to the nearest integer

scalbln(x, y) Returns x*Ry (R is usually 2)

scalbn(x, y) Returns x*Ry (R is usually 2)

sin(x) Returns the sine of x (x is in radians)

sinh(x) Returns the hyperbolic sine of x

sqrt(x) Returns the square root of x

tan(x) Returns the tangent of x (x is in radians)

tanh(x) Returns the hyperbolic tangent of x

tgamma(x) Returns the value of the gamma function at x

trunc(x) Returns the integer part of x

C++ Conditions and If Statements

You already know that C++ supports the usual logical conditions from
mathematics:

 Less than: a < b

 Less than or equal to: a <= b
 Greater than: a > b
 Greater than or equal to: a >= b
 Equal to a == b
 Not Equal to: a != b

You can use these conditions to perform different actions for different decisions.

C++ has the following conditional statements:

 Use if to specify a block of code to be executed, if a specified condition is

true
 Use else to specify a block of code to be executed, if the same condition is
false
 Use else if to specify a new condition to test, if the first condition is false
 Use switch to specify many alternative blocks of code to be executed

26
The if Statement
Use the if statement to specify a block of C++ code to be executed if a condition
is true.

Syntax
if (condition) {
// block of code to be executed if the condition is true
}

Note that if is in lowercase letters. Uppercase letters (If or IF) will generate an
error.

In the example below, we test two values to find out if 20 is greater than 18. If the
condition is true, print some text:

Example
if (20 > 18) {
cout << "20 is greater than 18";
}

We can also test variables:

Example
int x = 20;
int y = 18;
if (x > y) {
cout << "x is greater than y";
}

The else Statement

Use the else statement to specify a block of code to be executed if the condition
is false.

Syntax
if (condition) {
// block of code to be executed if the condition is true
} else {
// block of code to be executed if the condition is false
}

Example
int time = 20;
if (time < 18) {

27
 cout << "Good day.";
} else {
cout << "Good evening.";
}
// Outputs "Good evening."

The else if Statement

Use the else if statement to specify a new condition if the first condition is false.

Syntax
if (condition1) {
// block of code to be executed if condition1 is true
} else if (condition2) {
// block of code to be executed if the condition1 is false and condition2
is true
} else {
// block of code to be executed if the condition1 is false and condition2
is false
}

Example
int time = 22;
if (time < 10) {
cout << "Good morning.";
} else if (time < 20) {
cout << "Good day.";
} else {
cout << "Good evening.";
}
// Outputs "Good evening."

Short Hand If...Else (Ternary Operator)

There is also a short-hand if else, which is known as the ternary
operator because it consists of three operands. It can be used to replace multiple
lines of code with a single line. It is often used to replace simple if else statements:

Syntax
variable = (condition) ? expressionTrue : expressionFalse;

Instead of writing:

Example
int time = 20;
if (time < 18) {

28
 cout << "Good day.";
} else {
cout << "Good evening.";
}

You can simply write:

Example
int time = 20;
string result = (time < 18) ? "Good day." : "Good evening.";
cout << result;

C++ Switch Statements

Use the switch statement to select one of many code blocks to be executed.

Syntax
switch(expression) {
case x:
// code block
break;
case y:
// code block
break;
default:
// code block
}

This is how it works:

 The switch expression is evaluated once

 The value of the expression is compared with the values of each case
 If there is a match, the associated block of code is executed
 The break and default keywords are optional, and will be described later in
this chapter

The example below uses the weekday number to calculate the weekday name:

Example
int day = 4;
switch (day) {
case 1:
cout << "Monday";
break;
case 2:
cout << "Tuesday";
break;
case 3:
cout << "Wednesday";
break;

29
 case 4:
cout << "Thursday";
break;
case 5:
cout << "Friday";
break;
case 6:
cout << "Saturday";
break;
case 7:
cout << "Sunday";
break;
}
// Outputs "Thursday" (day 4)

The break Keyword

When C++ reaches a break keyword, it breaks out of the switch block.

This will stop the execution of more code and case testing inside the block.

When a match is found, and the job is done, it's time for a break. There is no need
for more testing.

A break can save a lot of execution time because it "ignores" the execution of all
the rest of the code in the switch block.

ADVERTISEMENT

The default Keyword

The default keyword specifies some code to run if there is no case match:

Example
int day = 4;
switch (day) {
case 6:
cout << "Today is Saturday";
break;
case 7:
cout << "Today is Sunday";
break;
default:
cout << "Looking forward to the Weekend";
}
// Outputs "Looking forward to the Weekend"

30
C++ Loops
Loops can execute a block of code as long as a specified condition is reached.

Loops are handy because they save time, reduce errors, and they make code more
readable.

C++ While Loop

The while loop loops through a block of code as long as a specified condition is true:

Syntax
while (condition) {
// code block to be executed
}

In the example below, the code in the loop will run, over and over again, as long as
a variable (i) is less than 5:

Example
int i = 0;
while (i < 5) {
cout << i << "\n";
i++;
}

Note: Do not forget to increase the variable used in the condition, otherwise the
loop will never end!

The Do/While Loop

The do/while loop is a variant of the while loop. This loop will execute the code block
once, before checking if the condition is true, then it will repeat the loop as long as
the condition is true.

Syntax
do {
// code block to be executed
}
while (condition);

The example below uses a do/while loop. The loop will always be executed at least
once, even if the condition is false, because the code block is executed before the
condition is tested:

31
Example
int i = 0;
do {
cout << i << "\n";
i++;
}
while (i < 5);

C++ For Loop

When you know exactly how many times you want to loop through a block of code,
use the for loop instead of a while loop:

Syntax
for (statement 1; statement 2; statement 3) {
// code block to be executed
}

Statement 1 is executed (one time) before the execution of the code block.

Statement 2 defines the condition for executing the code block.

Statement 3 is executed (every time) after the code block has been executed.

The example below will print the numbers 0 to 4:

Example
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
cout << i << "\n";
}

Example explained

Statement 1 sets a variable before the loop starts (int i = 0).

Statement 2 defines the condition for the loop to run (i must be less than 5). If the
condition is true, the loop will start over again, if it is false, the loop will end.

Statement 3 increases a value (i++) each time the code block in the loop has been
executed.

Another Example
This example will only print even values between 0 and 10:

32
Example
for (int i = 0; i <= 10; i = i + 2) {
cout << i << "\n";
}

Nested Loops
It is also possible to place a loop inside another loop. This is called a nested loop.

The "inner loop" will be executed one time for each iteration of the "outer loop":

Example
// Outer loop
for (int i = 1; i <= 2; ++i) {
cout << "Outer: " << i << "\n"; // Executes 2 times

// Inner loop
for (int j = 1; j <= 3; ++j) {
cout << " Inner: " << j << "\n"; // Executes 6 times (2 * 3)
}
}

The foreach Loop

There is also a "for-each loop" (introduced in C++ version 11 (2011), which is
used exclusively to loop through elements in an array (or other data sets):

Syntax
for (type variableName : arrayName) {
// code block to be executed
}

The following example outputs all elements in an array, using a "for-each loop":

Example
int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
for (int i : myNumbers) {
cout << i << "\n";
}

Note: Don't worry if you don't understand the example above. You will learn more
about arrays in the C++ Arrays chapter.

33
C++ Break
You have already seen the break statement used in an earlier chapter of this
tutorial. It was used to "jump out" of a switch statement.

The break statement can also be used to jump out of a loop.

This example jumps out of the loop when i is equal to 4:

Example
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
if (i == 4) {
break;
}
cout << i << "\n";
}

C++ Continue
The continue statement breaks one iteration (in the loop), if a specified condition
occurs, and continues with the next iteration in the loop.

This example skips the value of 4:

Example
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
if (i == 4) {
continue;
}
cout << i << "\n";
}

C++ Arrays
Arrays are used to store multiple values in a single variable, instead of declaring
separate variables for each value.

To declare an array, define the variable type, specify the name of the array
followed by square brackets and specify the number of elements it should store:

string cars[4];

We have now declared a variable that holds an array of four strings. To insert
values to it, we can use an array literal - place the values in a comma-separated
list, inside curly braces:

34
string cars[4] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};

To create an array of three integers, you could write:

int myNum[3] = {10, 20, 30};

Access the Elements of an Array

You access an array element by referring to the index number inside square
brackets [].

This statement accesses the value of the first element in cars:

Example
string cars[4] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
cout << cars[0];
// Outputs Volvo

Note: Array indexes start with 0: [0] is the first element. [1] is the second
element, etc.

Change an Array Element

To change the value of a specific element, refer to the index number:

cars[0] = "Opel";

Example
string cars[4] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
cars[0] = "Opel";
cout << cars[0];
// Now outputs Opel instead of Volvo

Loop Through an Array

You can loop through the array elements with the for loop.

The following example outputs all elements in the cars array:

Example
string cars[5] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda", "Tesla"};
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
cout << cars[i] << "\n";
}

35
This example outputs the index of each element together with its value:

Example
string cars[5] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda", "Tesla"};
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
cout << i << " = " << cars[i] << "\n";
}

And this example shows how to loop through an array of integers:

Example
int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
cout << myNumbers[i] << "\n";
}

The foreach Loop

There is also a "for-each loop" (introduced in C++ version 11 (2011), which is
used exclusively to loop through elements in an array:

Syntax
for (type variableName : arrayName) {
// code block to be executed
}

The following example outputs all elements in an array, using a "for-each loop":

Example
int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
for (int i : myNumbers) {
cout << i << "\n";
}

Omit Array Size

In C++, you don't have to specify the size of the array. The compiler is smart
enough to determine the size of the array based on the number of inserted values:

string cars[] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford"}; // Three array elements

The example above is equal to:

36
string cars[3] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford"}; // Also three array elements

However, the last approach is considered as "good practice", because it will reduce
the chance of errors in your program.

Omit Elements on Declaration

It is also possible to declare an array without specifying the elements on
declaration, and add them later:

Example
string cars[5];
cars[0] = "Volvo";
cars[1] = "BMW";
...

Get the Size of an Array

To get the size of an array, you can use the sizeof() operator:

Example
int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
cout << sizeof(myNumbers);

Result:

20

Why did the result show 20 instead of 5, when the array contains 5 elements?

It is because the sizeof() operator returns the size of a type in bytes.

You learned from the Data Types chapter that an int type is usually 4 bytes, so
from the example above, 4 x 5 (4 bytes x 5 elements) = 20 bytes.

To find out how many elements an array has, you have to divide the size of
the array by the size of the data type it contains:

Example
int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
int getArrayLength = sizeof(myNumbers) / sizeof(int);
cout << getArrayLength;

Result:

37
Loop Through an Array with sizeof()
In the Arrays and Loops Chapter, we wrote the size of the array in the loop
condition (i < 5). This is not ideal, since it will only work for arrays of a specified
size.

However, by using the sizeof() approach from the example above, we can now
make loops that work for arrays of any size, which is more sustainable.

Instead of writing:

int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
cout << myNumbers[i] << "\n";
}

It is better to write:

Example
int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
for (int i = 0; i < sizeof(myNumbers) / sizeof(int); i++) {
cout << myNumbers[i] << "\n";
}

Note that, in C++ version 11 (2011), you can also use the "for-each" loop:

Example
int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
for (int i : myNumbers) {
cout << i << "\n";
}

It is good to know the different ways to loop through an array, since you may
encounter them all in different programs.

Multi-Dimensional Arrays
A multi-dimensional array is an array of arrays.

To declare a multi-dimensional array, define the variable type, specify the name of
the array followed by square brackets which specify how many elements the main
array has, followed by another set of square brackets which indicates how many
elements the sub-arrays have:

string letters[2][4];

38
As with ordinary arrays, you can insert values with an array literal - a comma-
separated list inside curly braces. In a multi-dimensional array, each element in an
array literal is another array literal.

string letters[2][4] = {
{ "A", "B", "C", "D" },
{ "E", "F", "G", "H" }
};

Each set of square brackets in an array declaration adds another dimension to an

array. An array like the one above is said to have two dimensions.

Arrays can have any number of dimensions. The more dimensions an array has,
the more complex the code becomes. The following array has three dimensions:

string letters[2][2][2] = {
{
{ "A", "B" },
{ "C", "D" }
},
{
{ "E", "F" },
{ "G", "H" }
}
};

Access the Elements of a Multi-Dimensional

Array
To access an element of a multi-dimensional array, specify an index number in
each of the array's dimensions.

This statement accesses the value of the element in the first row (0) and third
column (2) of the letters array.

Example
string letters[2][4] = {
{ "A", "B", "C", "D" },
{ "E", "F", "G", "H" }
};

cout << letters[0][2]; // Outputs "C"

Remember that: Array indexes start with 0: [0] is the first element. [1] is the
second element, etc.

39
Change Elements in a Multi-Dimensional
Array
To change the value of an element, refer to the index number of the element in
each of the dimensions:

Example
string letters[2][4] = {
{ "A", "B", "C", "D" },
{ "E", "F", "G", "H" }
};
letters[0][0] = "Z";

cout << letters[0][0]; // Now outputs "Z" instead of "A"

Loop Through a Multi-Dimensional Array

To loop through a multi-dimensional array, you need one loop for each of the
array's dimensions.

The following example outputs all elements in the letters array:

Example
string letters[2][4] = {
{ "A", "B", "C", "D" },
{ "E", "F", "G", "H" }
};

for (int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {

for (int j = 0; j < 4; j++) {
cout << letters[i][j] << "\n";
}
}

This example shows how to loop through a three-dimensional array:

Example
string letters[2][2][2] = {
{
{ "A", "B" },
{ "C", "D" }
},
{
{ "E", "F" },
{ "G", "H" }
}
};

40
for (int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
for (int j = 0; j < 2; j++) {
for (int k = 0; k < 2; k++) {
cout << letters[i][j][k] << "\n";
}
}
}

Why Multi-Dimensional Arrays?

Multi-dimensional arrays are great at representing grids. This example shows a
practical use for them. In the following example we use a multi-dimensional array
to represent a small game of Battleship:

Example
// We put "1" to indicate there is a ship.
bool ships[4][4] = {
{ 0, 1, 1, 0 },
{ 0, 0, 0, 0 },
{ 0, 0, 1, 0 },
{ 0, 0, 1, 0 }
};

// Keep track of how many hits the player has and how many turns they have
played in these variables
int hits = 0;
int numberOfTurns = 0;

// Allow the player to keep going until they have hit all four ships
while (hits < 4) {
int row, column;

cout << "Selecting coordinates\n";

// Ask the player for a row

cout << "Choose a row number between 0 and 3: ";
cin >> row;

// Ask the player for a column

cout << "Choose a column number between 0 and 3: ";
cin >> column;

// Check if a ship exists in those coordinates

if (ships[row][column]) {
// If the player hit a ship, remove it by setting the value to zero.
ships[row][column] = 0;

// Increase the hit counter

hits++;

// Tell the player that they have hit a ship and how many ships are left

41
 cout << "Hit! " << (4-hits) << " left.\n\n";
} else {
// Tell the player that they missed
cout << "Miss\n\n";
}

// Count how many turns the player has taken

numberOfTurns++;
}

cout << "Victory!\n";

cout << "You won in " << numberOfTurns << " turns";

C++ Structures
Structures (also called structs) are a way to group several related variables into
one place. Each variable in the structure is known as a member of the structure.

Unlike an array, a structure can contain many different data types (int, string, bool,
etc.).

Create a Structure
To create a structure, use the struct keyword and declare each of its members
inside curly braces.

After the declaration, specify the name of the structure variable (myStructure in
the example below):

struct { // Structure declaration

int myNum; // Member (int variable)
string myString; // Member (string variable)
} myStructure; // Structure variable

Access Structure Members

To access members of a structure, use the dot syntax (.):

Example
Assign data to members of a structure and print it:

// Create a structure variable called myStructure

struct {
int myNum;
string myString;
} myStructure;

// Assign values to members of myStructure

42
myStructure.myNum = 1;
myStructure.myString = "Hello World!";

// Print members of myStructure

cout << myStructure.myNum << "\n";
cout << myStructure.myString << "\n";

One Structure in Multiple Variables

You can use a comma (,) to use one structure in many variables:

struct {
int myNum;
string myString;
} myStruct1, myStruct2, myStruct3; // Multiple structure variables separated
with commas

This example shows how to use a structure in two different variables:

Example
Use one structure to represent two cars:

struct {
string brand;
string model;
int year;
} myCar1, myCar2; // We can add variables by separating them with a comma
here

// Put data into the first structure

myCar1.brand = "BMW";
myCar1.model = "X5";
myCar1.year = 1999;

// Put data into the second structure

myCar2.brand = "Ford";
myCar2.model = "Mustang";
myCar2.year = 1969;

// Print the structure members

cout << myCar1.brand << " " << myCar1.model << " " << myCar1.year << "\n";
cout << myCar2.brand << " " << myCar2.model << " " << myCar2.year << "\n";

Named Structures
By giving a name to the structure, you can treat it as a data type. This means that
you can create variables with this structure anywhere in the program at any time.

To create a named structure, put the name of the structure right after
the struct keyword:

43
struct myDataType { // This structure is named "myDataType"
int myNum;
string myString;
};

To declare a variable that uses the structure, use the name of the structure as the
data type of the variable:

myDataType myVar;

Example
Use one structure to represent two cars:

// Declare a structure named "car"

struct car {
string brand;
string model;
int year;
};

int main() {
// Create a car structure and store it in myCar1;
car myCar1;
myCar1.brand = "BMW";
myCar1.model = "X5";
myCar1.year = 1999;

// Create another car structure and store it in myCar2;

car myCar2;
myCar2.brand = "Ford";
myCar2.model = "Mustang";
myCar2.year = 1969;

// Print the structure members

cout << myCar1.brand << " " << myCar1.model << " " << myCar1.year << "\n";
cout << myCar2.brand << " " << myCar2.model << " " << myCar2.year << "\n";

return 0;
}

Creating References
A reference variable is a "reference" to an existing variable, and it is created with
the & operator:

string food = "Pizza"; // food variable

string &meal = food; // reference to food

Now, we can use either the variable name food or the reference name meal to refer
to the food variable:

44
Example
string food = "Pizza";
string &meal = food;

cout << food << "\n"; // Outputs Pizza

cout << meal << "\n"; // Outputs Pizza

Memory Address
In the example from the previous page, the & operator was used to create a reference
variable. But it can also be used to get the memory address of a variable; which is
the location of where the variable is stored on the computer.

When a variable is created in C++, a memory address is assigned to the variable.

And when we assign a value to the variable, it is stored in this memory address.

To access it, use the & operator, and the result will represent where the variable is
stored:

Example
string food = "Pizza";

cout << &food; // Outputs 0x6dfed4

Note: The memory address is in hexadecimal form (0x..). Note that you may not
get the same result in your program.

And why is it useful to know the memory address?

References and Pointers (which you will learn about in the next chapter) are
important in C++, because they give you the ability to manipulate the data in the
computer's memory - which can reduce the code and improve the
performance.

These two features are one of the things that make C++ stand out from other
programming languages, like Python and Java.

Creating Pointers
You learned from the previous chapter, that we can get the memory address of a
variable by using the & operator:

Example
string food = "Pizza"; // A food variable of type string

cout << food; // Outputs the value of food (Pizza)

cout << &food; // Outputs the memory address of food (0x6dfed4)

45
A pointer however, is a variable that stores the memory address as its value.

A pointer variable points to a data type (like int or string) of the same type, and is
created with the * operator. The address of the variable you're working with is
assigned to the pointer:

Example
string food = "Pizza"; // A food variable of type string
string* ptr = &food; // A pointer variable, with the name ptr, that stores
the address of food

// Output the value of food (Pizza)

cout << food << "\n";

// Output the memory address of food (0x6dfed4)

cout << &food << "\n";

// Output the memory address of food with the pointer (0x6dfed4)

cout << ptr << "\n";

Example explained

Create a pointer variable with the name ptr, that points to a string variable, by
using the asterisk sign * (string* ptr). Note that the type of the pointer has to
match the type of the variable you're working with.

Use the & operator to store the memory address of the variable called food, and
assign it to the pointer.

Now, ptr holds the value of food's memory address.

Tip: There are three ways to declare pointer variables, but the first way is
preferred:

string* mystring; // Preferred

string *mystring;
string * mystring;

Get Memory Address and Value

In the example from the previous page, we used the pointer variable to get the
memory address of a variable (used together with the & reference operator).
However, you can also use the pointer to get the value of the variable, by using
the * operator (the dereference operator):

Example
string food = "Pizza"; // Variable declaration
string* ptr = &food; // Pointer declaration

// Reference: Output the memory address of food with the pointer (0x6dfed4)
cout << ptr << "\n";
46
// Dereference: Output the value of food with the pointer (Pizza)
cout << *ptr << "\n";

Note that the * sign can be confusing here, as it does two different things in our
code:

 When used in declaration (string* ptr), it creates a pointer variable.

 When not used in declaration, it act as a dereference operator.

Modify the Pointer Value

You can also change the pointer's value. But note that this will also change the
value of the original variable:

Example
string food = "Pizza";
string* ptr = &food;

// Output the value of food (Pizza)

cout << food << "\n";

// Output the memory address of food (0x6dfed4)

cout << &food << "\n";

// Access the memory address of food and output its value (Pizza)
cout << *ptr << "\n";

// Change the value of the pointer

*ptr = "Hamburger";

// Output the new value of the pointer (Hamburger)

cout << *ptr << "\n";

// Output the new value of the food variable (Hamburger)

cout << food << "\n";

C++ Functions
A function is a block of code which only runs when it is called.

You can pass data, known as parameters, into a function.

Functions are used to perform certain actions, and they are important for
reusing code: Define the code once, and use it many times.

47
Create a Function
C++ provides some pre-defined functions, such as main(), which is used to execute
code. But you can also create your own functions to perform certain actions.

To create (often referred to as declare) a function, specify the name of the

function, followed by parentheses ():

Syntax
void myFunction() {
// code to be executed
}

Example Explained

 myFunction() is the name of the function

 void means that the function does not have a return value. You will learn
more about return values later in the next chapter
 inside the function (the body), add code that defines what the function
should do

Call a Function
Declared functions are not executed immediately. They are "saved for later use",
and will be executed later, when they are called.

To call a function, write the function's name followed by two parentheses () and a
semicolon ;

In the following example, myFunction() is used to print a text (the action), when it is
called:

Example
Inside main, call myFunction():

// Create a function
void myFunction() {
cout << "I just got executed!";
}

int main() {
myFunction(); // call the function
return 0;
}

// Outputs "I just got executed!"

A function can be called multiple times:

48
Example
void myFunction() {
cout << "I just got executed!\n";
}

int main() {
myFunction();
myFunction();
myFunction();
return 0;
}

// I just got executed!

// I just got executed!
// I just got executed!

Function Declaration and Definition

A C++ function consist of two parts:

 Declaration: the return type, the name of the function, and parameters (if
any)
 Definition: the body of the function (code to be executed)

void myFunction() { // declaration

// the body of the function (definition)
}

Note: If a user-defined function, such as myFunction() is declared after

the main() function, an error will occur:

Example
int main() {
myFunction();
return 0;
}

void myFunction() {
cout << "I just got executed!";
}

// Error

However, it is possible to separate the declaration and the definition of the function
- for code optimization.

49
You will often see C++ programs that have function declaration above main(), and
function definition below main(). This will make the code better organized and easier
to read:

Example
// Function declaration
void myFunction();

// The main method

int main() {
myFunction(); // call the function
return 0;
}

// Function definition
void myFunction() {
cout << "I just got executed!";
}

Parameters and Arguments

Information can be passed to functions as a parameter. Parameters act as variables
inside the function.

Parameters are specified after the function name, inside the parentheses. You can
add as many parameters as you want, just separate them with a comma:

Syntax
void functionName(parameter1, parameter2, parameter3) {
// code to be executed
}

The following example has a function that takes a string called fname as
parameter. When the function is called, we pass along a first name, which is used
inside the function to print the full name:

Example
void myFunction(string fname) {
cout << fname << " Refsnes\n";
}

int main() {
myFunction("Liam");
myFunction("Jenny");
myFunction("Anja");
return 0;
}

// Liam Refsnes

50
// Jenny Refsnes
// Anja Refsnes

When a parameter is passed to the function, it is called an argument. So, from

the example above: fname is a parameter,
while Liam, Jenny and Anja are arguments.

Default Parameter Value

You can also use a default parameter value, by using the equals sign (=).

If we call the function without an argument, it uses the default value ("Norway"):

Example
void myFunction(string country = "Norway") {
cout << country << "\n";
}

int main() {
myFunction("Sweden");
myFunction("India");
myFunction();
myFunction("USA");
return 0;
}

// Sweden
// India
// Norway
// USA

A parameter with a default value, is often known as an "optional parameter".

From the example above, country is an optional parameter and "Norway" is the
default value.

Multiple Parameters
Inside the function, you can add as many parameters as you want:

Example
void myFunction(string fname, int age) {
cout << fname << " Refsnes. " << age << " years old. \n";
}

int main() {
myFunction("Liam", 3);
myFunction("Jenny", 14);
myFunction("Anja", 30);

51
 return 0;
}

// Liam Refsnes. 3 years old.

// Jenny Refsnes. 14 years old.
// Anja Refsnes. 30 years old.

Note that when you are working with multiple parameters, the function call must
have the same number of arguments as there are parameters, and the arguments
must be passed in the same order.

Return Values
The void keyword, used in the previous examples, indicates that the function should
not return a value. If you want the function to return a value, you can use a data
type (such as int, string, etc.) instead of void, and use the return keyword inside
the function:

Example
int myFunction(int x) {
return 5 + x;
}

int main() {
cout << myFunction(3);
return 0;
}

// Outputs 8 (5 + 3)

This example returns the sum of a function with two parameters:

Example
int myFunction(int x, int y) {
return x + y;
}

int main() {
cout << myFunction(5, 3);
return 0;
}

// Outputs 8 (5 + 3)

You can also store the result in a variable:

52
Example
int myFunction(int x, int y) {
return x + y;
}

int main() {
int z = myFunction(5, 3);
cout << z;
return 0;
}
// Outputs 8 (5 + 3)

Pass By Reference
In the examples from the previous page, we used normal variables when we
passed parameters to a function. You can also pass a reference to the function.
This can be useful when you need to change the value of the arguments:

Example
void swapNums(int &x, int &y) {
int z = x;
x = y;
y = z;
}

int main() {
int firstNum = 10;
int secondNum = 20;

cout << "Before swap: " << "\n";

cout << firstNum << secondNum << "\n";

// Call the function, which will change the values of firstNum and
secondNum
swapNums(firstNum, secondNum);

cout << "After swap: " << "\n";

cout << firstNum << secondNum << "\n";

return 0;
}

Pass Arrays as Function Parameters

You can also pass arrays to a function:

Example
void myFunction(int myNumbers[5]) {
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

53
 cout << myNumbers[i] << "\n";
}
}

int main() {
int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
myFunction(myNumbers);
return 0;
}

Example Explained
The function (myFunction) takes an array as its parameter (int myNumbers[5]), and
loops through the array elements with the for loop.

When the function is called inside main(), we pass along the myNumbers array, which
outputs the array elements.

Note that when you call the function, you only need to use the name of the array
when passing it as an argument myFunction(myNumbers). However, the full declaration
of the array is needed in the function parameter (int myNumbers[5]).

Function Overloading
With function overloading, multiple functions can have the same name with
different parameters:

Example
int myFunction(int x)
float myFunction(float x)
double myFunction(double x, double y)

Consider the following example, which have two functions that add numbers of
different type:

Example
int plusFuncInt(int x, int y) {
return x + y;
}

double plusFuncDouble(double x, double y) {

return x + y;
}

int main() {
int myNum1 = plusFuncInt(8, 5);
double myNum2 = plusFuncDouble(4.3, 6.26);
cout << "Int: " << myNum1 << "\n";
cout << "Double: " << myNum2;

54
 return 0;
}

Instead of defining two functions that should do the same thing, it is better to
overload one.

In the example below, we overload the plusFunc function to work for

both int and double:

Example
int plusFunc(int x, int y) {
return x + y;
}

double plusFunc(double x, double y) {

return x + y;
}

int main() {
int myNum1 = plusFunc(8, 5);
double myNum2 = plusFunc(4.3, 6.26);
cout << "Int: " << myNum1 << "\n";
cout << "Double: " << myNum2;
return 0;
}

Note: Multiple functions can have the same name as long as the number and/or
type of parameters are different.

Recursion
Recursion is the technique of making a function call itself. This technique provides a
way to break complicated problems down into simple problems which are easier to
solve.

Recursion may be a bit difficult to understand. The best way to figure out how it
works is to experiment with it.

Recursion Example
Adding two numbers together is easy to do, but adding a range of numbers is more
complicated. In the following example, recursion is used to add a range of numbers
together by breaking it down into the simple task of adding two numbers:

Example
int sum(int k) {
if (k > 0) {
return k + sum(k - 1);

55
 } else {
return 0;
}
}

int main() {
int result = sum(10);
cout << result;
return 0;
}

Example Explained
When the sum() function is called, it adds parameter k to the sum of all numbers
smaller than k and returns the result. When k becomes 0, the function just returns
0. When running, the program follows these steps:

10 + sum(9)
10 + ( 9 + sum(8) )
10 + ( 9 + ( 8 + sum(7) ) )
...
10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 + sum(0)
10 +9+8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1+0

Since the function does not call itself when k is 0, the program stops there and
returns the result.

The developer should be very careful with recursion as it can be quite easy to slip
into writing a function which never terminates, or one that uses excess amounts of
memory or processor power. However, when written correctly recursion can be a
very efficient and mathematically-elegant approach to programming.

C++ What is OOP?

OOP stands for Object-Oriented Programming.

Procedural programming is about writing procedures or functions that perform

operations on the data, while object-oriented programming is about creating
objects that contain both data and functions.

Object-oriented programming has several advantages over procedural

programming:

 OOP is faster and easier to execute

 OOP provides a clear structure for the programs
 OOP helps to keep the C++ code DRY "Don't Repeat Yourself", and makes
the code easier to maintain, modify and debug
 OOP makes it possible to create full reusable applications with less code and
shorter development time

Tip: The "Don't Repeat Yourself" (DRY) principle is about reducing the repetition of
code. You should extract out the codes that are common for the application, and
place them at a single place and reuse them instead of repeating it.

56
C++ What are Classes and Objects?
Classes and objects are the two main aspects of object-oriented programming.

Look at the following illustration to see the difference between class and objects:

So, a class is a template for objects, and an object is an instance of a class.

When the individual objects are created, they inherit all the variables and functions
from the class.

C++ Classes/Objects
C++ is an object-oriented programming language.

Everything in C++ is associated with classes and objects, along with its attributes
and methods. For example: in real life, a car is an object. The car has attributes,
such as weight and color, and methods, such as drive and brake.

Attributes and methods are basically variables and functions that belongs to the
class. These are often referred to as "class members".

A class is a user-defined data type that we can use in our program, and it works as
an object constructor, or a "blueprint" for creating objects.

Create a Class
To create a class, use the class keyword:

57
Example
Create a class called "MyClass":

class MyClass { // The class

public: // Access specifier
int myNum; // Attribute (int variable)
string myString; // Attribute (string variable)
};

Example explained
 The class keyword is used to create a class called MyClass.
 The public keyword is an access specifier, which specifies that members
(attributes and methods) of the class are accessible from outside the class.
You will learn more about access specifiers later.
 Inside the class, there is an integer variable myNum and a string
variable myString. When variables are declared within a class, they are
called attributes.
 At last, end the class definition with a semicolon ;.

Create an Object
In C++, an object is created from a class. We have already created the class
named MyClass, so now we can use this to create objects.

To create an object of MyClass, specify the class name, followed by the object name.

To access the class attributes (myNum and myString), use the dot syntax (.) on the
object:

Example
Create an object called "myObj" and access the attributes:

class MyClass { // The class

public: // Access specifier
int myNum; // Attribute (int variable)
string myString; // Attribute (string variable)
};

int main() {
MyClass myObj; // Create an object of MyClass

// Access attributes and set values

myObj.myNum = 15;
myObj.myString = "Some text";

// Print attribute values

cout << myObj.myNum << "\n";
cout << myObj.myString;

58
 return 0;
}

Multiple Objects
You can create multiple objects of one class:

Example
// Create a Car class with some attributes
class Car {
public:
string brand;
string model;
int year;
};

int main() {
// Create an object of Car
Car carObj1;
carObj1.brand = "BMW";
carObj1.model = "X5";
carObj1.year = 1999;

// Create another object of Car

Car carObj2;
carObj2.brand = "Ford";
carObj2.model = "Mustang";
carObj2.year = 1969;

// Print attribute values

cout << carObj1.brand << " " << carObj1.model << " " <<
carObj1.year << "\n";
cout << carObj2.brand << " " << carObj2.model << " " <<
carObj2.year << "\n";
return 0;
}

Class Methods
Methods are functions that belongs to the class.

There are two ways to define functions that belongs to a class:

 Inside class definition

 Outside class definition

In the following example, we define a function inside the class, and we name it
"myMethod".

Note: You access methods just like you access attributes; by creating an object of
the class and using the dot syntax (.):

59
Inside Example
class MyClass { // The class
public: // Access specifier
void myMethod() { // Method/function defined inside the class
cout << "Hello World!";
}
};

int main() {
MyClass myObj; // Create an object of MyClass
myObj.myMethod(); // Call the method
return 0;
}

To define a function outside the class definition, you have to declare it inside the
class and then define it outside of the class. This is done by specifiying the name of
the class, followed the scope resolution :: operator, followed by the name of the
function:

Outside Example
class MyClass { // The class
public: // Access specifier
void myMethod(); // Method/function declaration
};

// Method/function definition outside the class

void MyClass::myMethod() {
cout << "Hello World!";
}

int main() {
MyClass myObj; // Create an object of MyClass
myObj.myMethod(); // Call the method
return 0;
}

Parameters
You can also add parameters:

Example
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Car {
public:
int speed(int maxSpeed);
};

60
int Car::speed(int maxSpeed) {
return maxSpeed;
}

int main() {
Car myObj; // Create an object of Car
cout << myObj.speed(200); // Call the method with an argument
return 0;
}

Constructors
A constructor in C++ is a special method that is automatically called when an
object of a class is created.

To create a constructor, use the same name as the class, followed by

parentheses ():

Example
class MyClass { // The class
public: // Access specifier
MyClass() { // Constructor
cout << "Hello World!";
}
};

int main() {
MyClass myObj; // Create an object of MyClass (this will call the
constructor)
return 0;
}

Note: The constructor has the same name as the class, it is always public, and it
does not have any return value.

Constructor Parameters
Constructors can also take parameters (just like regular functions), which can be
useful for setting initial values for attributes.

The following class have brand, model and year attributes, and a constructor with
different parameters. Inside the constructor we set the attributes equal to the
constructor parameters (brand=x, etc). When we call the constructor (by creating an
object of the class), we pass parameters to the constructor, which will set the value
of the corresponding attributes to the same:

61
Example
class Car { // The class
public: // Access specifier
string brand; // Attribute
string model; // Attribute
int year; // Attribute
Car(string x, string y, int z) { // Constructor with parameters
brand = x;
model = y;
year = z;
}
};

int main() {
// Create Car objects and call the constructor with different values
Car carObj1("BMW", "X5", 1999);
Car carObj2("Ford", "Mustang", 1969);

// Print values
cout << carObj1.brand << " " << carObj1.model << " " <<
carObj1.year << "\n";
cout << carObj2.brand << " " << carObj2.model << " " <<
carObj2.year << "\n";
return 0;
}

Just like functions, constructors can also be defined outside the class. First, declare
the constructor inside the class, and then define it outside of the class by specifying
the name of the class, followed by the scope resolution :: operator, followed by the
name of the constructor (which is the same as the class):

Example
class Car { // The class
public: // Access specifier
string brand; // Attribute
string model; // Attribute
int year; // Attribute
Car(string x, string y, int z); // Constructor declaration
};

// Constructor definition outside the class

Car::Car(string x, string y, int z) {
brand = x;
model = y;
year = z;
}

int main() {
// Create Car objects and call the constructor with different values
Car carObj1("BMW", "X5", 1999);
Car carObj2("Ford", "Mustang", 1969);

62
 // Print values
cout << carObj1.brand << " " << carObj1.model << " " <<
carObj1.year << "\n";
cout << carObj2.brand << " " << carObj2.model << " " <<
carObj2.year << "\n";
return 0;
}

Access Specifiers
By now, you are quite familiar with the public keyword that appears in all of our
class examples:

Example
class MyClass { // The class
public: // Access specifier
// class members goes here
};

The public keyword is an access specifier. Access specifiers define how the
members (attributes and methods) of a class can be accessed. In the example
above, the members are public - which means that they can be accessed and
modified from outside the code.

However, what if we want members to be private and hidden from the outside
world?

In C++, there are three access specifiers:

 public - members are accessible from outside the class

 private - members cannot be accessed (or viewed) from outside the class
 protected - members cannot be accessed from outside the class, however,
they can be accessed in inherited classes. You will learn more
about Inheritance later.

In the following example, we demonstrate the differences

between public and private members:

Example
class MyClass {
public: // Public access specifier
int x; // Public attribute
private: // Private access specifier
int y; // Private attribute
};

int main() {
MyClass myObj;
myObj.x = 25; // Allowed (public)

63
 myObj.y = 50; // Not allowed (private)
return 0;
}

If you try to access a private member, an error occurs:

error: y is private

Note: It is possible to access private members of a class using a public method

inside the same class. See the next chapter (Encapsulation) on how to do this.

Tip: It is considered good practice to declare your class attributes as private (as
often as you can). This will reduce the possibility of yourself (or others) to mess up
the code. This is also the main ingredient of the Encapsulation concept, which you
will learn more about in the next chapter.

Note: By default, all members of a class are private if you don't specify an access
specifier:

Example
class MyClass {
int x; // Private attribute
int y; // Private attribute
};

Encapsulation
The meaning of Encapsulation, is to make sure that "sensitive" data is hidden from
users. To achieve this, you must declare class variables/attributes as private (cannot
be accessed from outside the class). If you want others to read or modify the value
of a private member, you can provide public get and set methods.

Access Private Members

To access a private attribute, use public "get" and "set" methods:

Example
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Employee {
private:
// Private attribute
int salary;

public:
// Setter
void setSalary(int s) {
salary = s;
}

64
 // Getter
int getSalary() {
return salary;
}
};

int main() {
Employee myObj;
myObj.setSalary(50000);
cout << myObj.getSalary();
return 0;
}

Example explained

The salary attribute is private, which have restricted access.

The public setSalary() method takes a parameter (s) and assigns it to

the salary attribute (salary = s).

The public getSalary() method returns the value of the private salary attribute.

Inside main(), we create an object of the Employee class. Now we can use
the setSalary() method to set the value of the private attribute to 50000. Then we
call the getSalary() method on the object to return the value.

Why Encapsulation?
 It is considered good practice to declare your class attributes as private (as
often as you can). Encapsulation ensures better control of your data, because
you (or others) can change one part of the code without affecting other parts
 Increased security of data

Abstraction
Data abstraction is one of the most essential and important features of object-
oriented programming in C++. Abstraction means displaying only essential
information and hiding the details. Data abstraction refers to providing only essential
information about the data to the outside world, hiding the background details or
implementation.

Consider a real-life example of a man driving a car. The man only knows that pressing
the accelerator will increase the speed of the car or applying brakes will stop the car
but he does not know how on pressing the accelerator the speed is actually
increasing, he does not know about the inner mechanism of the car or the
implementation of the accelerator, brakes, etc in the car. This is what abstraction is.

Types of Abstraction:
65
 1. Data abstraction – This type only shows the required information about the
data and hides the unnecessary data.
2. Control Abstraction – This type only shows the required information about
the implementation and hides unnecessary information.

Abstraction using Classes

We can implement Abstraction in C++ using classes. The class helps us to group
data members and member functions using available access specifiers. A Class can
decide which data member will be visible to the outside world and which is not.

Abstraction in Header files

One more type of abstraction in C++ can be header files. For example, consider the
pow() method present in math.h header file. Whenever we need to calculate the
power of a number, we simply call the function pow() present in the math.h header
file and pass the numbers as arguments without knowing the underlying algorithm
according to which the function is actually calculating the power of numbers.

Abstraction using Access Specifiers

Access specifiers are the main pillar of implementing abstraction in C++. We can use
access specifiers to enforce restrictions on class members. For example:

Members declared as public in a class can be accessed from anywhere in the

program.

Members declared as private in a class, can be accessed only from within the class.
They are not allowed to be accessed from any part of the code outside the class.

We can easily implement abstraction using the above two features provided by
access specifiers. Say, the members that define the internal implementation can be
marked as private in a class. And the important information needed to be given to
the outside world can be marked as public. And these public members can access
the private members as they are inside the class.

Difference between Abstraction and Encapsulation

In OOPs, Abstraction is the method of getting information where the information
needed will be taken in such a simplest way that solely the required components are
extracted, and also the ones that are considered less significant are unnoticed. The
concept of abstraction only shows necessary information to the users. It reduces the
complexity of the program by hiding the implementation complexities of programs.

Example of Abstraction:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Summation {
private:

66
 // private variables
int a, b, c;
public:
void sum(int x, int y)
{
a = x;
b = y;
c = a + b;
cout<<"Sum of the two number is : "<<c<<endl;
}
};
int main()
{
Summation s;
s.sum(5, 4);
return 0;
}

Output:

Sum of the two number is: 9

In the this example, we can see that abstraction has achieved by using class. The
class ‘Summation’ holds the private members a, b and c, which are only accessible
by the member functions of that class.

Encapsulation is the process or method to contain the information. Encapsulation is

a method to hide the data in a single entity or unit along with a method to protect
information from outside world. This method encapsulates the data and function
together inside a class which also results in data abstraction.

Example of Encapsulation:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class EncapsulationExample {
private:
// we declare a as private to hide it from outside
int a;

public:
// set() function to set the value of a
void set(int x)
{
a = x;
}

// get() function to return the value of a

int get()
{
return a;
}

67
};

// main function
int main()
{
EncapsulationExample e1;

e1.set(10);

cout<<e1.get();
return 0;
}

Output:

10

In the this program, the variable a is made private so that this variable can be
accessed and manipulated only by using the methods get() and set() that are
present within the class. Therefore we can say that, the variable a and the methods
set() as well as get() have binded together that is nothing but encapsulation.

S.NO Abstraction Encapsulation

1. Abstraction is the process or While encapsulation is the process or
method of gaining the method to contain the information.
information.
2. In abstraction, problems are While in encapsulation, problems are
solved at the design or interface solved at the implementation level.
level.
3. Abstraction is the method of Whereas encapsulation is a method to
hiding the unwanted hide the data in a single entity or unit
information. along with a method to protect information
from outside.
4. We can implement abstraction Whereas encapsulation can be
using abstract class and implemented using by access modifier i.e.
interfaces. private, protected and public.
5. In abstraction, implementation While in encapsulation, the data is hidden
complexities are hidden using using methods of getters and setters.
abstract classes and interfaces.
6. The objects that help to perform Whereas the objects that result in
abstraction are encapsulated. encapsulation need not be abstracted.

Inheritance
In C++, it is possible to inherit attributes and methods from one class to another.
We group the "inheritance concept" into two categories:

 derived class (child) - the class that inherits from another class
 base class (parent) - the class being inherited from

To inherit from a class, use the : symbol.

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In the example below, the Car class (child) inherits the attributes and methods from
the Vehicle class (parent):

Example
// Base class
class Vehicle {
public:
string brand = "Ford";
void honk() {
cout << "Tuut, tuut! \n" ;
}
};

// Derived class
class Car: public Vehicle {
public:
string model = "Mustang";
};

int main() {
Car myCar;
myCar.honk();
cout << myCar.brand + " " + myCar.model;
return 0;
}

Why And When To Use "Inheritance"?

- It is useful for code reusability: reuse attributes and methods of an existing class
when you create a new class.

Multilevel Inheritance
A class can also be derived from one class, which is already derived from another
class.

In the following example, MyGrandChild is derived from class MyChild (which is derived
from MyClass).

Example
// Base class (parent)
class MyClass {
public:
void myFunction() {
cout << "Some content in parent class." ;
}
};

// Derived class (child)

class MyChild: public MyClass {
};

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// Derived class (grandchild)
class MyGrandChild: public MyChild {
};

int main() {
MyGrandChild myObj;
myObj.myFunction();
return 0;
}

Multiple Inheritance
A class can also be derived from more than one base class, using a comma-
separated list:

Example
// Base class
class MyClass {
public:
void myFunction() {
cout << "Some content in parent class." ;
}
};

// Another base class

class MyOtherClass {
public:
void myOtherFunction() {
cout << "Some content in another class." ;
}
};

// Derived class
class MyChildClass: public MyClass, public MyOtherClass {
};

int main() {
MyChildClass myObj;
myObj.myFunction();
myObj.myOtherFunction();
return 0;
}

Access Specifiers
You learned from the Access Specifiers chapter that there are three specifiers
available in C++. Until now, we have only used public (members of a class are
accessible from outside the class) and private (members can only be accessed
within the class). The third specifier, protected, is similar to private, but it can also
be accessed in the inherited class:

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Example
// Base class
class Employee {
protected: // Protected access specifier
int salary;
};

// Derived class
class Programmer: public Employee {
public:
int bonus;
void setSalary(int s) {
salary = s;
}
int getSalary() {
return salary;
}
};

int main() {
Programmer myObj;
myObj.setSalary(50000);
myObj.bonus = 15000;
cout << "Salary: " << myObj.getSalary() << "\n";
cout << "Bonus: " << myObj.bonus << "\n";
return 0;
}

Polymorphism
Polymorphism means "many forms", and it occurs when we have many classes that
are related to each other by inheritance.

Like we specified in the previous chapter; Inheritance lets us inherit attributes and
methods from another class. Polymorphism uses those methods to perform
different tasks. This allows us to perform a single action in different ways.

For example, think of a base class called Animal that has a method
called animalSound(). Derived classes of Animals could be Pigs, Cats, Dogs, Birds -
And they also have their own implementation of an animal sound (the pig oinks,
and the cat meows, etc.):

Example
// Base class
class Animal {
public:
void animalSound() {
cout << "The animal makes a sound \n";
}
};

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// Derived class
class Pig : public Animal {
public:
void animalSound() {
cout << "The pig says: wee wee \n";
}
};

// Derived class
class Dog : public Animal {
public:
void animalSound() {
cout << "The dog says: bow wow \n";
}
};

Remember from the Inheritance chapter that we use the : symbol to inherit from a
class.

Now we can create Pig and Dog objects and override the animalSound() method:

Example
// Base class
class Animal {
public:
void animalSound() {
cout << "The animal makes a sound \n";
}
};

// Derived class
class Pig : public Animal {
public:
void animalSound() {
cout << "The pig says: wee wee \n";
}
};

// Derived class
class Dog : public Animal {
public:
void animalSound() {
cout << "The dog says: bow wow \n";
}
};

int main() {
Animal myAnimal;
Pig myPig;
Dog myDog;

myAnimal.animalSound();
myPig.animalSound();

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 myDog.animalSound();
return 0;
}

Why And When To Use "Inheritance" and "Polymorphism"?

- It is useful for code reusability: reuse attributes and methods of an existing class
when you create a new class.

C++ Files
The fstream library allows us to work with files.

To use the fstream library, include both the

standard <iostream> AND the <fstream> header file:

Example
#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>

There are three classes included in the fstream library, which are used to create,
write or read files:

Class Description

ofstream Creates and writes to files

ifstream Reads from files

fstream A combination of ofstream and ifstream: creates, reads, and writes to files

Create and Write To a File

To create a file, use either the ofstream or fstream class, and specify the name of the
file.

To write to the file, use the insertion operator (<<).

Example
#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
// Create and open a text file
ofstream MyFile("filename.txt");

// Write to the file

MyFile << "Files can be tricky, but it is fun enough!";

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 // Close the file
MyFile.close();
}

Why do we close the file?

It is considered good practice, and it can clean up unnecessary memory space.

Read a File
To read from a file, use either the ifstream or fstream class, and the name of the file.

Note that we also use a while loop together with the getline() function (which
belongs to the ifstream class) to read the file line by line, and to print the content of
the file:

Example
// Create a text string, which is used to output the text file
string myText;

// Read from the text file

ifstream MyReadFile("filename.txt");

// Use a while loop together with the getline() function to read the file
line by line
while (getline (MyReadFile, myText)) {
// Output the text from the file
cout << myText;
}

// Close the file

MyReadFile.close();

C++ Exceptions
When executing C++ code, different errors can occur: coding errors made by the
programmer, errors due to wrong input, or other unforeseeable things.

When an error occurs, C++ will normally stop and generate an error message. The
technical term for this is: C++ will throw an exception (throw an error).

C++ try and catch

Exception handling in C++ consist of three keywords: try, throw and catch:

The try statement allows you to define a block of code to be tested for errors while
it is being executed.

The throw keyword throws an exception when a problem is detected, which lets us
create a custom error.

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The catch statement allows you to define a block of code to be executed, if an error
occurs in the try block.

The try and catch keywords come in pairs:

Example
try {
// Block of code to try
throw exception; // Throw an exception when a problem arise
}
catch () {
// Block of code to handle errors
}

Consider the following example:

Example
try {
int age = 15;
if (age >= 18) {
cout << "Access granted - you are old enough.";
} else {
throw (age);
}
}
catch (int myNum) {
cout << "Access denied - You must be at least 18 years old.\n";
cout << "Age is: " << myNum;
}

Example explained

We use the try block to test some code: If the age variable is less than 18, we
will throw an exception, and handle it in our catch block.

In the catch block, we catch the error and do something about it.
The catch statement takes a parameter: in our example we use an int variable
(myNum) (because we are throwing an exception of int type in the try block (age)), to
output the value of age.

If no error occurs (e.g. if age is 20 instead of 15, meaning it will be be greater than
18), the catch block is skipped:

Example
int age = 20;

You can also use the throw keyword to output a reference number, like a custom
error number/code for organizing purposes:

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Example
try {
int age = 15;
if (age >= 18) {
cout << "Access granted - you are old enough.";
} else {
throw 505;
}
}
catch (int myNum) {
cout << "Access denied - You must be at least 18 years old.\n";
cout << "Error number: " << myNum;
}

Handle Any Type of Exceptions (...)

If you do not know the throw type used in the try block, you can use the "three
dots" syntax (...) inside the catch block, which will handle any type of exception:

Example
try {
int age = 15;
if (age >= 18) {
cout << "Access granted - you are old enough.";
} else {
throw 505;
}
}
catch (...) {
cout << "Access denied - You must be at least 18 years old.\n";
}

Operator Overloading
In C++, Operator overloading is a compile-time polymorphism. It is an idea of
giving special meaning to an existing operator in C++ without changing its original
meaning.

In this article, we will further discuss about operator overloading in C++ with
examples and see which operators we can or cannot overload in C++.

Implementation:

// C++ Program to Demonstrate the

// working/Logic behind Operator
// Overloading
class A {
statements;

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};
int main()
{
A a1, a2, a3;
a3 = a1 + a2;
return 0;
}

In this example, we have 3 variables “a1”, “a2” and “a3” of type “class A”. Here we
are trying to add two objects “a1” and “a2”, which are of user-defined type i.e. of
type “class A” using the “+” operator. This is not allowed, because the addition
operator “+” is predefined to operate only on built-in data types. But here, “class
A” is a user-defined type, so the compiler generates an error. This is where the
concept of “Operator overloading” comes in.

Now, if the user wants to make the operator “+” add two class objects, the user
has to redefine the meaning of the “+” operator such that it adds two class objects.
This is done by using the concept of “Operator overloading”. So the main idea
behind “Operator overloading” is to use C++ operators with class variables or class
objects. Redefining the meaning of operators really does not change their original
meaning; instead, they have been given additional meaning along with their
existing ones.

1. Overloading Unary Operator

Let us consider overloading (-) unary operator. In the unary operator function, no
arguments should be passed. It works only with one class object. It is the
overloading of an operator operating on a single operand.

Example: Assume that class Distance takes two member objects i.e. feet and
inches, and creates a function by which the Distance object should decrement the
value of feet and inches by 1 (having a single operand of Distance Type).

// C++ program to show unary

// operator overloading
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Distance {
public:
int feet, inch;

// Constructor to initialize
// the object's value

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 Distance(int f, int i)
{
this->feet = f;
this->inch = i;
}

// Overloading(-) operator to
// perform decrement operation
// of Distance object
void operator-()
{
feet--;
inch--;
cout << "\n Feet & Inches(Decrement): " <<
feet << "'" << inch;
}
};

// Driver Code
int main()
{
Distance d1(8, 9);

// Use (-) unary operator by

// single operand
-d1;
return 0;
}

Output

Feet & Inches(Decrement): 7'8

Note: d2 = -d1 will not work, because operator-() does not return any value.

2. Overloading Binary Operator

In the binary operator overloading function, there should be one argument to be

passed. It is the overloading of an operator operating on two operands. Below is
the C++ program to show the overloading of the binary operator (+) using a class
Distance with two distant objects.

78
// C++ program to show binary
// operator overloading
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Distance {
public:
int feet, inch;

Distance()
{
this->feet = 0;
this->inch = 0;
}

Distance(int f, int i)
{
this->feet = f;
this->inch = i;
}

// Overloading (+) operator to

// perform addition of two distance
// object
// Call by reference
Distance operator+(Distance& d2)
{
// Create an object to return
Distance d3;

d3.feet = this->feet + d2.feet;

d3.inch = this->inch + d2.inch;

// Return the resulting object

return d3;

79
 }
};

// Driver Code
int main()
{
Distance d1(8, 9);
Distance d2(10, 2);
Distance d3;

// Use overloaded operator

d3 = d1 + d2;

cout << "\nTotal Feet & Inches: " <<

d3.feet << "'" << d3.inch;
return 0;
}

Output

Total Feet & Inches: 18'11

Criteria/Rules to Define the Operator Function

1. In the case of a non-static member function, the binary operator should

have only one argument and the unary should not have an argument.

2. In the case of a friend function, the binary operator should have only two
arguments and the unary should have only one argument.

3. Operators that cannot be overloaded are .* :: ?:

4. Operators that cannot be overloaded when declaring that function as friend

function are = () [] ->.

5. The operator function must be either a non-static (member function), global

free function or a friend function.

Almost all operators can be overloaded except a few. Following is the list of
operators that cannot be overloaded.

sizeof

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typeid

Scope resolution (::)

Class member access operators (.(dot), .* (pointer to member operator))

Ternary or conditional (?:)

Difference between Operator Functions and Normal Functions

Operator functions are the same as normal functions. The only differences are, that
the name of an operator function is always the operator keyword followed by the
symbol of the operator, and operator functions are called when the corresponding
operator is used.

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