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3.1Introduction

In this chapter, youll begin writing programs that

employ the basic concepts of object-oriented
programming that we introduced in Section1.8.

Typically, the programs you develop in this book

will consist of function main and one or more
classes, each containing data members and
member functions.

In this chapter, we develop a simple, wellengineered framework for organizing objectoriented programs in C++.
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3.5Initializing Objects with Constructors

(cont.)

A constructor specifies in its parameter list the data it

requires to perform its task.

When you create a new object, you place this data in the
parentheses that follow the object name.

The constructor uses a member-initializer list (line 15) to

initialize the courseName data member with the value of
the constructors parameter name.

Member initializers appear between a constructors

parameter list and the left brace that begins the
constructors body.

The member initializer list is separated from the

parameter list with a colon (:).
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3.5Initializing Objects with Constructors

(cont.)

A member initializer consists of a data members

variable name followed by parentheses
containing the members initial value.
In this example, courseName is initialized with
the value of the parameter name.
If a class contains more than one data member,
each data members initializer is separated from
the next by a comma.
The member initializer list executes before the
body of the constructor executes.

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3.5Initializing Objects with Constructors

(cont.)

Any constructor that takes no arguments is called a

default constructor.

A class gets a default constructor in one of several ways:

The compiler implicitly creates a default constructor in every
class that does not have any user-defined constructors.
The default constructor does not initialize the classs data
members, but does call the default constructor for each
data member that is an object of another class. An
uninitialized variable contains an undefined (garbage) value.
You explicitly define a constructor that takes no arguments. Such
a default constructor will call the default constructor for each
data member that is an object of another class and will perform
additional initialization specified by you.
If you define any constructors with arguments, C++ will not
implicitly create a default constructor for that class.
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3.6Placing a Class in a Separate File for

Reusability

One of the benefits of creating class definitions is

that, when packaged properly, our classes can be
reused by programmers - potentially worldwide.

Programmers who wish to use our GradeBook

class cannot simply include the file from Fig.3.7
in another program.
As you learned in Chapter2, function main begins the
execution of every program, and every program must
have exactly one main function.

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3.6Placing a Class in a Separate File for Reusability

(cont.)

Each of the previous examples in the chapter

consists of a single .cpp file, also known as a
source-code file, that contains a GradeBook class
definition and a main function.
When building an object-oriented C++ program,
its customary to define reusable source code
(such as a class) in a file that by convention has a
.h filename extensionknown as a header.
Programs use #include preprocessing directives
to include header files and take advantage of
reusable software components.
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3.6Placing a Class in a Separate File for Reusability

(cont.)

Our next example separates the code from

Fig.3.7 into two files - GradeBook.h (Fig.3.9) and
fig03_10.cpp (Fig.3.10).
As you look at the header file in Fig.3.9, notice that it
contains only the GradeBook class definition (lines 738)
and the headers on which the class depends.
The main function that uses class GradeBook is defined in
the source-code file fig03_10.cpp (Fig.3.10) in lines 818.

To help you prepare for the larger programs youll

encounter later in this book and in industry, we
often use a separate source-code file containing
function main to test our classes (this is called a
driver program).
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3.6Placing a Class in a Separate File for Reusability

(cont.)

Throughout the header (Fig. 3.9), we use std::

when referring to string (lines 11, 18, 24 and 37),
cout (line 33) and endl (line 34).
Headers should never contain using directives or
using declarations (Section 2.7).
To test class GradeBook (defined in Fig.3.9), you
must write a separate source-code file containing
a main function (such as Fig.3.10) that
instantiates and uses objects of the class.

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3.6Placing a Class in a Separate File for Reusability

(cont.)

To help the compiler understand how to use a

class, we must explicitly provide the compiler
with the classs definition (declaration)
Thats why, for example, to use type string, a program
must include the <string> header file.\
This enables the compiler to determine the amount of
memory that it must reserve for each object of the class
and ensure that a program calls the classs member
functions correctly.

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3.6Placing a Class in a Separate File for Reusability

(cont.)

The compiler creates only one copy of the classs member

functions and shares that copy among all the classs objects.

Each object, of course, needs its own data members, because

their contents can vary among objects.

The member-function code, however, is not modifiable, so it

can be shared among all objects of the class.

Therefore, the size of an object depends on the amount of

memory required to store the classs data members.

By including GradeBook.h in line 4, we give the compiler

access to the information it needs to determine the size of a
GradeBook object and to determine whether objects of the
class are used correctly.
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3.6Placing a Class in a Separate File for Reusability

(cont.)

Placing a class definition in a header file reveals the entire

implementation of the class to the classs clients.

Conventional software engineering wisdom says that to use an

object of a class, the client code needs to know only what member
functions to call, what arguments to provide to each member
function and what return type to expect from each member function.
The client code does not need to know how those functions are implemented.

If client code does know how a class is implemented, the client-code

programmer might write client code based on the classs
implementation details.

Ideally, if that implementation changes, the classs clients should

not have to change.

Hiding the classs implementation details makes it easier to change

the classs implementation while minimizing, and hopefully
eliminating, changes to client code.
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3.7Separating Interface from

Implementation

Interfaces define and standardize the ways in

which things such as people and systems interact
with one another.

The interface of a class describes what services a

classs clients can use and how to request those
services, but not how the class carries out the
services.

A classs public interface consists of the classs

public member functions (also known as the
classs public services).
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3.7Separating Interface from

Implementation (cont.)

In our prior examples, each class definition contained the

complete definitions of the classs public member functions and
the declarations of its private data members.

Its better software engineering to define member functions

outside the class definition, so that their implementation details
can be hidden from the client code.
Ensures that you do not write client code that depends on the classs
implementation details.

The program of Figs.3.113.13 separates class GradeBooks

interface from its implementation by splitting the class definition
of Fig.3.9 into two filesthe header file GradeBook.h (Fig.3.11)
in which class GradeBook is defined, and the source-code file
GradeBook.cpp (Fig.3.12) in which GradeBooks member
functions are defined.
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3.7Separating Interface from

Implementation (cont.)

By convention, member-function definitions are

placed in a source-code file of the same base
name (e.g., GradeBook) as the classs header file
but with a .cpp filename extension.

Figure3.14 shows how this three-file program is

compiled from the perspectives of the GradeBook
class programmer and the client-code
programmer. Well explain this figure in detail.

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3.7Separating Interface from

Implementation (cont.)

Header file GradeBook.h (Fig.3.11) is similar to the one

in Fig.3.9, but the function definitions in Fig.3.9 are
replaced here with function prototypes (lines 1114)
that describe the classs public interface without
revealing the classs member-function implementations.
A function prototype is a declaration of a function that
tells the compiler the functions name, its return type
and the types of its parameters.
Including the header file GradeBook.h in the client code
(line 5 of Fig.3.13) provides the compiler with the
information it needs to ensure that the client code calls
the member functions of class GradeBook correctly.

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3.7Separating Interface from

Implementation (cont.)

Source-code file GradeBook.cpp (Fig.3.12)

defines class GradeBooks member functions,
which were declared in lines 1114 of Fig.3.11.

Each member-function name (lines 9, 16, 22 and

28) is preceded by the class name and ::, which is
known as the scope resolution operator.

This ties each member function to the (now

separate) GradeBook class definition (Fig.3.11),
which declares the classs member functions and
data members.
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3.7Separating Interface from

Implementation (cont.)

To indicate that the member functions in

GradeBook.cpp are part of class GradeBook, we
must first include the GradeBook.h header file
(line 5 of Fig.3.12).
This allows us to access the class name
GradeBook in the GradeBook.cpp file.
When compiling GradeBook.cpp, the compiler
uses the information in GradeBook.h to ensure
that:
the first line of each member function matches its
prototype in the GradeBook.h file
each member function knows about the classs data
members and other member functions
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3.7Separating Interface from

Implementation (cont.)

Before executing this program, the source-code

files in Fig.3.12 and Fig.3.13 must both be
compiled, then linked togetherthat is, the
member-function calls in the client code need to
be tied to the implementations of the classs
member functions a job performed by the
linker.
The diagram in Fig.3.14 shows the compilation
and linking process that results in an executable
GradeBook application that can be used by
instructors.

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3.8Validating Data with set Functions

The program of Figs.3.153.17 enhances class

GradeBooks member function setCourseName to
perform validation (also known as validity
checking).
Since the interface of the class remains
unchanged, clients of this class need not be
changed when the definition of member function
setCourseName is modified.
This enables clients to take advantage of the
improved GradeBook class simply by linking the
client code to the updated GradeBooks object
code.
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3.8Validating Data with set Functions (cont.)

The C++ Standard Librarys string class defines a

member function length that returns the number
of characters in a string object.
A consistent state is a state in which an
objects data members contain valid values
(not garbage).
Class string provides member function substr
(short for substring) that returns a new string
object created by copying part of an existing
string object.

The first argument specifies the starting position in

the original string from which characters are copied.
The second argument specifies the number of
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3.10Validating Data with set Functions

(cont.)

Figure3.17 demonstrates the modified version of

class GradeBook (Figs.3.153.16) featuring
validation.
In previous versions of the class, the benefit of
calling setCourseName in the constructor was not
evident.
Now, however, the constructor takes advantage
of the validation provided by setCourseName.
The constructor simply calls setCourseName,
rather than duplicating its validation code.

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3.8Validating Data with set Functions (cont.)

A public set function such as setCourseName

should carefully scrutinize any attempt to modify
the value of a data member (e.g., courseName)
to ensure that the new value is appropriate for
that data item.
A set function could return a value indicating that
an attempt was made to assign invalid data to an
object of the class.
A client could then test the return value of the set
function to determine whether the attempt to
modify the object was successful and to take
appropriate action if not.
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