Chapter 10

Classes and Data Abstraction

C++ Programming: Program Design Including Data Structures, Eighth Edition

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 Objectives (1 of 2)

In this chapter, you will:

– Learn about classes
– Learn about private, protected, and public members of a class
– Explore how classes are implemented
– Become aware of accessor and mutator functions
– Examine constructors and destructors

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 Objectives (2 of 2)

• Learn about the abstract data type (ADT)

• Explore how classes are used to implement ADTs
• Become aware of the differences between a struct and a class
• Learn about information hiding
• Explore how information hiding is implemented in C++
• Become aware of inline functions of a class
• Learn about the static members of a class

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 Classes (1 of 4)

• Object-oriented design (OOD): a problem solving methodology

• Object: combines data and the operations on that data in a single unit
• Class: a collection of a fixed number of components
• Member: a component of a class

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 Classes (2 of 4)

• The general syntax for defining a class:

• A class member can be a variable or a function

• If a member of a class is a variable
• It is declared like any other variable
• You cannot initialize a variable when you declare it

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 Classes (3 of 4)

• If a member of a class is a function

• A function prototype declares that member
• Function members can (directly) access any member of the class
• A class definition defines only a data type
• No memory is allocated
• Remember the semicolon (;) after the closing brace

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 Classes (4 of 4)

• Three categories of class members:

• private (default)
- Member cannot be accessed outside the class
• public
- Member is accessible outside the class
• protected

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 Unified Modeling Language Class Diagrams (1 of 2)

• Unified Modeling Language (UML) notation: used to graphically describe a class

and its members
• +: member is public
• -: member is private
• #: member is protected

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 Unified Modeling Language Class Diagrams (2 of 2)

FIGURE 10-1 UML class diagram of the class clockType

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 Variable (Object) Declaration

• Once defined, you can declare variables of that class type

• clockType myClock;
• clockType yourClock;
• A class variable is called a class object or class instance

FIGURE 10-2 Objects myClock and yourClock

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 Accessing Class Members

• Once an object is declared, it can access the members of the class

• The general syntax for an object to access a member of a class:

• If an object is declared in the definition of a member function of the class, it

can access the public and private members
• The dot (.) is the member access operator

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 Built-in Operations on Classes

• Most of C++’s built-in operations do not apply to classes

• Arithmetic operators cannot be used on class objects unless the operators are
overloaded
• Relational operators cannot be used to compare two class objects for equality
• Built-in operations that are valid for class objects:
• Member access (.)
• Assignment (=)

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 Assignment Operator and Classes

FIGURE 10-3 myClock and yourClock before and after executing the
statement
myClock = yourClock;

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 Class Scope (1 of 2)

• A class object can be automatic or static

• Automatic: created when the declaration is reached and destroyed when the
surrounding block is exited
• Static: created when the declaration is reached and destroyed when the program
terminates
• A member of a class has the same scope as a member of a struct

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 Class Scope (2 of 2)

• A member of the class is local to the class

• You access a class member outside the class by using the class object
name and the member access operator (.)

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 Functions and Classes

• Objects can be passed as parameters to functions and returned as function

values
• As parameters to functions:
• Class objects can be passed by value or by reference
• If an object is passed by value:
• Contents of data members of the actual parameter are copied into the corresponding
data members of the formal parameter

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 Reference Parameters and Class Objects (Variables) (1 of 2)

• Passing by value might require a large amount of storage space and a

considerable amount of computer time to copy the value of the actual
parameter into the formal parameter
• If a variable is passed by reference:
• The formal parameter receives only the address of the actual parameter

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 Reference Parameters and Class Objects (Variables) (2 of 2)

• Pass by reference is an efficient way to pass a variable as a parameter

• Problem: when passing by reference, the actual parameter changes when the formal
parameter changes
• Solution: use const in the formal parameter declaration

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 Implementation of Member Functions (1 of 4)

• Must write the code for functions defined as function prototypes

• Prototypes are left in the class to keep the class smaller and to hide the
implementation
• To access identifiers local to the class, use the scope resolution operator,

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 Implementation of Member Functions (2 of 4)

FIGURE 10-4 myClock before and after executing the statement

myClock.setTime(3, 48, 52);

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 Implementation of Member Functions (3 of 4)

FIGURE 10-5 Objects myClock and yourClock

FIGURE 10-6 Object myClock and parameter otherClock

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 Implementation of Member Functions (4 of 4)

• Once a class is properly defined and implemented, it can be used in a program

• A program that uses/manipulates objects of a class is called a client of that class
• When you declare objects of the class clockType, each object has its own
copy of the member variables (hr, min, and sec)
• These variables are called instance variables of the class
• Every object has its own copy of the data

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 Accessor and Mutator Functions

• Accessor function: member function that only accesses the value(s) of member
variable(s)
• Mutator function: member function that modifies the value(s) of member
variable(s)
• Constant member function
• Member function that cannot modify member variables of that class
• Member function heading with const at the end

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 Order of public and private Members of a Class

• C++ has no fixed order in which to declare public and private members
• By default, all members of a class are private
• Use the member access specifier public to make a member available for
public access

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 Constructors (1 of 2)

• Use constructors to guarantee that member variables of a class are initialized

• Two types of constructors
• With parameters
• Without parameters (default constructor)
• Other properties of constructors
• Name of a constructor is the same as the name of the class
• A constructor has no type

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 Constructors (2 of 2)

• A class can have more than one constructor

• Each must have a different formal parameter list
• Constructors execute automatically when a class object enters its scope
• They cannot be called like other functions
• Which constructor executes depends on the types of values passed to the class
object when the class object is declared

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 Invoking a Constructor

• A constructor is automatically executed when a class variable is declared

• Because a class may have more than one constructor, you can invoke a specific
constructor

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 Invoking the Default Constructor

• Syntax to invoke the default constructor is:

• The statement:
clockType yourClock;
declares yourClock to be an object of type clockType and the default constructor
executes

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 Invoking a Constructor with Parameters

• The syntax to invoke a constructor with a parameter is:

• Number and type of arguments should match the formal parameters (in the
order given) of one of the constructors
• Otherwise, C++ uses type conversion and looks for the best match
• Any ambiguity causes a compile-time error

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 Constructors and Default Parameters

• A constructor can have default parameters

• Rules for declaring formal parameters are the same as for declaring default formal
parameters in a function
• Actual parameters are passed according to the same rules for functions
• A default constructor is a constructor with no parameters or with all default
parameters

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 Classes and Constructors: A Precaution

• If a class has no constructor(s), C++ provides the default constructor

• However, the object declared is still uninitialized
• If a class includes constructor(s) with parameter(s), but not the default
constructor
• C++ does not provide the default constructor
• Appropriate arguments must be included when the object is declared

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 In-line Initialization of Data Members and the Default Constructor

• C++11 standard allows member initialization in class declarations

• Called in-line initialization of the data members
• When an object is declared without parameters, then the object is initialized
with the in-line initialized values
• If declared with parameters, then the default values are overridden by the constructor
with the parameters

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 Arrays of Class Objects (Variables) and Constructors

• If you declare an array of class objects, the class should have the default
constructor
• The default constructor is typically used to initialize each (array) class object

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 Destructors

• Destructors are functions without any type

• A class can have only one destructor
• The destructor has no parameters
• The name of a destructor is the tilde character (~) followed by the class name
• Example: ~clockType();
• The destructor automatically executes when the class object goes out of scope

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 Data Abstract, Classes, and Abstract Data Types

• Abstraction
• Separating design details from usage
• Separating the logical properties from the implementation details
• Abstraction also applicable to data
• Abstract data type (ADT): a data type that separates the logical properties from
the implementation details
• Three things associated with an ADT
• Type name: the name of the ADT
• Domain: the set of values belonging to the ADT
• Set of operations on the data

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 A struct versus a class (1 of 2)

• By default, members of a struct are public

• private specifier can be used in a struct to make a member private
• By default, the members of a class are private
• classes and structs have the same capabilities

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 A struct versus a class (2 of 2)

• In C++, the definition of a struct was expanded to include member functions,

constructors, and destructors
• If all member variables of a class are public and there are no member
functions:
• Use a struct

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 Information Hiding (1 of 3)

• Information hiding refers to hiding the details of the operations on the data
• The header file (or interface file) contains the specification details
• The header file has an extension h
• The implementation file contains the definitions of the functions to implement
the operations of an object
• This file has an extension cpp
• In the header file, include function prototypes and comments that briefly
describe the functions
• Specify preconditions and/or postconditions

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 Information Hiding (2 of 3)

• Implementation file must include the header file via the include statement
• In the include statement:
• User-defined header files are enclosed in double quotes
• System-provided header files are enclosed between angular brackets

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 Information Hiding (3 of 3)

• Precondition: a statement specifying the condition(s) that must be true before

the function is called
• Postcondition: a statement specifying what is true after the function call is
completed

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 Executable Code

• To use an object in a program

• The program must be able to access the implementation details of the object
• IDEs Visual C++ Express (2013 or 2016) and Visual Studio 2015, and C++ Builder
put the editor, compiler, and linker into a package
• One command (build, rebuild, or make) compiles program and links it with the other
necessary files
• These systems also manage multiple file programs in the form of a project

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 More Examples of Classes

• Various examples of classes and how to use them in a program are presented
• Refer to Example 10-8 through Example 10-11

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 Inline Functions

• An inline function definition is a member function definition given completely

in the definition of the class
• Saves the overhead of a function invocation
• Very short definitions should be defined as inline functions

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 static Members of a Class (1 of 2)

• Use the keyword static to declare a function or variable of a class as

static
• A public static function or member of a class can be accessed using the
class name and the scope resolution operator
• static member variables of a class exist even if no object of that class type
exists

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 static Members of a Class (2 of 2)

• Multiple objects of a class each have their own copy of non-static member
variables
• All objects of a class share any static member of the class

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 Quick Review (1 of 3)

• A class is a collection of a fixed number of components

• Components of a class are called the members of the class
• Accessed by name
• Classified into one of three categories: private, protected, and public
• In C++, class variables are called class objects or class instances or,
simply, objects

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 Quick Review (2 of 3)

• The only built-in operations on classes are assignment and member selection
• Constructors guarantee that data members are initialized when an object is
declared
• A default constructor has no parameters
• The destructor automatically executes when a class object goes out of scope
• A class can have only one destructor
• The destructor has no parameters

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 Quick Review (3 of 3)

• An abstract data type (ADT) is a data type that separates the logical properties
from the implementation details
• A public static member, function or data, of a class can be accessed
using the class name and the scope resolution operator,

• static member variables of a class exist even when no object of the

class type exists
• Instance variables are non-static data members

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