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const vs non const lect-8(1)

Constant member functions in OOP are designed to prevent modification of class data members, indicated by the 'const' keyword in their declaration. Objects can also be declared as const, allowing only const member functions to be invoked. In contrast, non-constant functions can modify an object's state and do not use the const keyword, with typical use cases including setters and state-changing methods.

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19 views11 pages

const vs non const lect-8(1)

Constant member functions in OOP are designed to prevent modification of class data members, indicated by the 'const' keyword in their declaration. Objects can also be declared as const, allowing only const member functions to be invoked. In contrast, non-constant functions can modify an object's state and do not use the const keyword, with typical use cases including setters and state-changing methods.

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husnaintanveer422
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Const member functions in OOP

• Constant member functions are those functions that are


denied permission to change the values of the data
members of their class. To make a member function
constant, the keyword const is appended to the function
prototype and also to the function definition header.
• Like member functions and member function arguments,
the objects of a class can also be declared as const. An
object declared as const cannot be modified and hence,
can invoke only const member functions as these
functions ensure not to modify the object. A const object
can be created by prefixing the const keyword to the
object declaration.
Syntax
• The const member function can be defined in three ways:
1. For function declaration within a class.
return_type function_name() const;
Example:
int get_data() const;
2. For function definition within the class declaration.
return_type function_name () const
{
//function body
}
Example:
int get_data() const
{
//function body
}
3. For function definition outside the class.
return_type class_name::function_name() const
{
//function body
}
Example:
int Demo :: get_data() const
{
}
Important Points:
When a function is declared as const, it can be called on
any type of object, const object as well as non-const objects.
Whenever an object is declared as const, it needs to be
initialized at the time of declaration. however, the object
initialization while declaring is possible only with the help of
constructors.
• A function becomes const when the const keyword is
used in the function’s declaration. The idea of const
functions is not to allow them to modify the object on
which they are called.

Examples of Const Member Functions

The below oop program demo that data members can be


updated in a member function that is not constant.
// Java program to demonstrate that data members can be
// updated in a member function that is not constant.

public class Demo {


private int x;

// Member function to set data


public void setData(int a) {
x = a;
}
// Non-constant member function
// Data can be updated
public int getData() {
++x;
return x;
}

public static void main(String[] args) {


Demo d = new Demo();
d.setData(10);
System.out.println(d.getData()); } }
Explanation
• Class Definition: The Demo class has a private data
member x.
• setData Method: This member function is used to set the
value of the data member x.
• getData Method: This member function increments the
data member x and returns its value. It is not constant,
allowing it to modify the data member.
• Main Method:
• An object of Demo is created.
• The setData function is called to set the value of x to 10.
• The getData function is called, which increments x and
prints its value.
When you run this Java program, the output will be: 11
Non-Constant Functions
In Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), a non-constant
function (or non-const member function) is a member
function that can modify the state of an object, i.e., it can
change the values of the object's data members. This is in
contrast to a constant function (or const member function),
which guarantees not to alter the object's state.
Characteristics of Non-Constant Functions

• Modifying State: The primary characteristic of a non-


constant function is that it can modify the state of an
object. This means it can change the values of the
object's data members.

• Absence of const Keyword: In languages like C++, non-


constant member functions do not have the const
keyword after their declaration. In Java, the concept of
const member functions does not exist, so all member
functions are non-constant by default unless the data
members themselves are marked as final.
• Typical Use Cases: Non-constant functions are used for
operations that need to modify the object's data. This
includes setters, functions that perform calculations and
update members, or any method that changes the internal
state of the object.

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