C++ Programming
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Classes and Objects
• Class in C++ is the building block that leads to Object-Oriented
programming. It is a user-defined data type, which holds its own data
members and member functions, which can be accessed and used by
creating an instance of that class.
• A C++ class is like a blueprint for an object.
• A Class is a user-defined data type that has data members and member
functions.
• Data members are the data variables and member functions are the
functions used to manipulate these variables together, these data
members and member functions define the properties and behavior of
the objects in a Class.
An Object is an instance of a Class. When a class is defined, no memory
is allocated but when it is instantiated (i.e. an object is created)
memory is allocated.
❖ Defining Class and Declaring Objects
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➢ A class is defined in C++ using the keyword class followed by the name
of the class.
➢ The body of the class is defined inside the curly brackets and terminated
by a semicolon at the end.
❖ Declaring Objects
When a class is defined, only the specification for the object is defined; no
memory or storage is allocated. To use the data and access functions defined
in the class, you need to create objects.
Syntax:
ClassName ObjectName;
❖ Accessing Data Members
⚫ The public data members are also accessed in the same way given
however the private data members are not allowed to be accessed
directly by the object.
⚫ Accessing a data member depends solely on the access control of that
data member.
⚫ This access control is given by Access modifiers in C++. There are three
access modifiers: public, private, and protected.
Example:
#include <iostream>
class Student {
public:
// Data members
std::string name;
int age;
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// Constructor
Student(std::string n, int a) {
name = n;
age = a;
}
// Member function to display student information
void displayInfo() {
std::cout << "Name: " << name << "\n";
std::cout << "Age: " << age << "\n";
}
};
int main() {
// Creating an object of the Student class
Student student1("Alice", 20);
// Accessing data members using object
std::cout << "Using object:\n";
std::cout << "Name: " << student1.name << "\n";
std::cout << "Age: " << student1.age << "\n";
// Accessing data members using member function
std::cout << "\nUsing member function:\n";
student1.displayInfo();
return 0;
}
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Output:
Using object:
Name: Alice
Age: 20
Using member function:
Name: Alice
Age: 20
❖ Member Functions in Classes
There are 2 ways to define a member function:
• Inside class definition
• Outside class definition
To define a member function outside the class definition we have to use
the scope resolution:: operator along with the class name and function
name.
Example:
#include <iostream>
class MyClass;
void outsideFunction(MyClass& obj);
class MyClass {
public:
void insideFunction() {
std::cout << "Inside class function." << std::endl;
}
};
void outsideFunction(MyClass& obj) {
std::cout << "Outside class function." << std::endl;
}
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int main() {
MyClass obj;
obj.insideFunction();
outsideFunction(obj);
return 0;
Output:
Inside class function.
Outside class function.
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