In the previous example, you saw how a constructor called a method for a class. But how? That object wasn’t created yet… right? Well sort of. When you build from a base/parent class, it’s no arg constructor is called first, creating a base class. That object is then able to call it’s functions. Let’s try…
You can extend almost any class you want. So once you’ve defined a base class, you just need to know enough about it, and how you want to derive from it. Considering our GenericGeometric class from before, let’s look at deriving a Circle class from it. In our header file we will have: Notice two…
One of the cool things about object oriented programming is that you can derive a class from an existing class. this allows you to have most of the class built from an existing class, and not need to rewrite the whole class, only the new parts. Additionally, if the original class, called the base class…
C++ allows you to define functions for operators, this is called operator overloading. Now why would you need to do that? Well, consider the Circle class we defined earlier. Let’s say I needed to compare two circles to see which one was larger, normally I’d write something like: The problem is, C++ has know way…
Using arrays to store a collection of variables, even objects, if very beneficial. However, it does have some limitations given that arrays are of a fixed size, and cannot shrink or grow with use. This means you either run out of space after a set of time, or you waste a lot of space as…
Not only can you use templates for a primitive data type within functions, but also within classes. Consider the following example: The methods are similar to a non-template class, however, each method is a template itself, so you have to adjust a few things. For example, you have to specify template<typename T> before each method….
Templates are like a way to simplify making overloaded functions, by allowing for a function with generic data types to be written, to have the compiler change at compile time. The Generic Version of this would look like: Think of something like where you want to determine the max value of two variables. Well, you…
We’ve talked about Constructors in C++ already. One of the special methods, along with Destructors, that C++ offers. There is a third, special method which C++ offers. That is called a Copy Constructor. The Copy Constructor is a special type of constructor, which is intended for use when you duplicate an object. Some people will…
