QandA Module 3:

Programming Concepts
(Using C++)

Slide 1
Reference:

Slide 2
 The Main Function
• The main function in a program is used like a
void function.
• Do you have to end the program with a
return-statement?

Slide 3
 The Main Function
• The main function in a program is used like a
void function.
• Do you have to end the program
with a return-statement?
– Because the main function is defined to return a
value of type int, the return is needed
– C++ standard says the return 0 can be omitted, but
many compilers still require it

Slide 4
 4.2

Call-by-Reference Parameters
• Why is Call-by-reference required?
• Why is Call-by-value not adequate?

Slide 5
 4.2

Call-by-Reference Parameters
• Call-by-value is not adequate when we need
a sub-task to obtain input values
– Call-by-value means that the formal parameters
receive the values of the arguments
– To obtain input values, we need to change the
variables that are arguments to the function
• Recall that we have changed the values of
formal parameters in a function body, but we have not
changed the arguments found in the function call
• Call-by-reference parameters allow us to change
the variable used in the function call
– Arguments for call-by-reference parameters must be
variables, not numbers
Slide 6
 4.2

Call-by-Reference Example
• Give an example of Call-By-reference usage.

Slide 7
Call-by-Reference Example
• void get_input(double& f_variable)
{
using namespace std;
cout << “ Convert a Fahrenheit temperature”
<< “ to Celsius.\n”
<< “ Enter a temperature in Fahrenheit: “;
cin >> f_variable;
}
• ‘&’ symbol (ampersand) identifies f_variable as a
Display 4.4 (1)
call-by-reference parameter
– Used in both declaration and definition! Display 4.4 (2)
Slide 8
Call-By-Reference Details
• Call-by-reference works almost as if the
argument variable is substituted for the formal
parameter, not the argument’s value
• In reality, the memory location of the
argument variable is given to the formal
parameter
– Whatever is done to a formal parameter in the
function body, is actually done to the value at the
memory location of the argument variable
Slide 9
 Call Comparisons
Call By Reference vs Value

• Call-by-reference • Call-by-value
– The function call: – The function call:
f(age); Memory f(age);
Name Location Contents

age 1001 34
initial 1002 A
hours 1003 23.5
1004

void f(int& ref_par); void f(int var_par);

Slide 10
Mixed Parameter Lists
• Can call-by-value and call-by-reference
parameters be mixed in the same function?

Slide 11
Mixed Parameter Lists
• Call-by-value and call-by-reference parameters
can be mixed in the same function

• Example:
void good_stuff(int& par1, int par2, double& par3);
– par1 and par3 are call-by-reference formal
parameters
• Changes in par1 and par3 change the argument variable
– par2 is a call-by-value formal parameter
• Changes in par2 do not change the argument variable
Slide 12
Choosing Parameter Types

• How do you decide whether a call-by-

reference or call-by-value formal parameter is
needed?

Slide 13
Choosing Parameter Types

• How do you decide whether a call-by-

reference
or call-by-value formal parameter is needed?
– Does the function need to change the value of the

variable used as an argument?

– Yes? Use a call-by-reference formal parameter
– No? Use a call-by-value formal parameter

Slide 14
 6.2
Classes
• What is a class in C++ ?

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 6.2
Classes
• A class is a data type whose variables are
objects
– The definition of a class includes
• Description of the kinds of values of the member
variables
• Description of the member functions
– A class description is somewhat like a
structure definition plus the member variables

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A Class Example
• Create a new type named DayOfYear as
a class definition
– This example’s values are dates such as July 4
using an integer for the number of the month

• Member variable month is an int (Jan = 1, Feb = 2, etc.)

• Member variable day is an int
– Use just one member function named output

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Class DayOfYear Definition

class DayOfYear
{
public:
void output( );
int month;
int day;
};
Member Function Declaration

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Defining a Member Function
• Member functions are declared in the class
declaration
• Member function definitions identify the class
in which the function is a member
– void DayOfYear::output()
{
cout << “month = “ << month
<< “, day = “ << day
<< endl;
}
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Member Function Definition

• Member function definition syntax:

Returned_Type Class_Name::Function_Name(Parameter_List)
{
Function Body Statements
}
– Example: void DayOfYear::output( )
{
cout << “month = “ << month
<< “, day = “ << day << endl;
}

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 The ‘::’ Operator
• ‘::’ is the scope resolution operator
– Tells the class a member function is a member of

– void DayOfYear::output( ) indicates that function

output is a member of the DayOfYear class

– The class name that precedes ‘::’ is a type

qualifier

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 ‘::’ and ‘.’
• ‘::’ used with classes to identify a member
void DayOfYear::output( )
{
// function body
}

• ‘.’used with variables to identify a member

DayOfYear birthday;
birthday.output( );

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 Calling Member Functions

• Calling the DayOfYear member function

output
is done in this way:
DayOfYear today, birthday;
today.output( );
birthday.output( );
– Note that today and birthday have their own
versions of the month and day variables
Displayfor 6.3
use (1)
by the output function Display 6.3 (2)
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Problems
• Changing how the month is stored in the class
DayOfYear requires changes to the program
• If we decide to store the month as three
characters (JAN, FEB, etc.) instead of an int
– cin >> today.month will no longer work because
we now have three character variables to read
– if(today.month == birthday.month) will no longer
work to compare months
– The member function “output” no longer works
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Ideal Class Definitions
• Changing the implementation of DayOfYear
requires changes to the program that uses
DayOfYear
• An ideal class definition of DayOfYear could
be changed without requiring changes to
the program that uses DayOfYear

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Fixing DayOfYear
• How To fix DayOfYear

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Fixing DayOfYear
• To fix DayOfYear
– We need to add member functions to use when
changing or accessing the member variables
• If the program never directly references the member
variables, changing how the variables are stored will
not require changing the program
– We need to be sure that the program does not
ever directly reference the member variables

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Public Or Private?
• C++ helps us restrict the program from directly

referencing member variables

– private members of a class can only be referenced

within the definitions of member functions

• If the program tries to access a private member, the
compiler gives an error message
– Private members can be variables or functions

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Private Variables
• Private variables cannot be accessed directly
by the program
– Changing their values requires the use of public
member functions of the class
– To set the private month and day variables in a
new
DayOfYear class use a member function such as
void DayOfYear::set(int new_month, int new_day)
{
month = new_month;
day = new_day;
}
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Public or Private Members
• The keyword private identifies the members of
a class that can be accessed only by member
functions of the class
– Members that follow the keyword private are
private members of the class
• The keyword public identifies the members of
a class that can be accessed from outside the
class
– Members that follow the keyword public are public
members of the class

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General Class
Definitions
• What is the general syntax for a class definition?

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General Class Definitions

• The syntax for a class definition is

– class Class_Name
{
public:
Member_Specification_1
Member_Specification_2
…
Member_Specification_3
private:
Member_Specification_n+1
Member_Specification_n+2
…
};
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Declaring an Object
• Once a class is defined, how is an object of the
class declared ?

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Declaring an Object
• Once a class is defined, an object of the class
is declared just as variables of any other type
– Example: To create two objects of type Bicycle:
class Bicycle
{
// class definition lines
};

Bicycle my_bike, your_bike;

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The Assignment Operator
• Objects and structures can be assigned values
with the assignment operator (=) ?

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The Assignment Operator
• Yes, objects and structures can be assigned
values with the assignment operator (=)
– Example:
DayOfYear due_date,
tomorrow;

tomorrow.set(11, 19);

due_date = tomorrow;

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Calling Public Members
• How is a member function called from the
main function of a program?

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Calling Public Members
• If calling a member function from the main
function of a program, you must include the
the object name. For e.g.
account1.update( );

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Calling Private Members
• When a member function calls a private
member function, an object name is not used
– fraction (double percent);
is a private member of the BankAccount class
– fraction is called by member function update
void BankAccount::update( )
{
balance = balance + fraction(interest_rate)*
balance;
}
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Constructors
• What is a constructor?

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Constructors
• A constructor can be used to initialize member
variables when an object is declared
– A constructor is a member function that is usually
public
– A constructor is automatically called when an object
of the class is declared
– A constructor’s name must be the name of the class
– A constructor cannot return a value
• No return type, not even void, is used in declaring or
defining a constructor

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Constructors
• How is a constructor declared and defined?

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Constructor Declaration
• A constructor for the BankAccount class could
be declared as:

class BankAccount
{
public:
BankAccount(int dollars, int cents, double rate);
//initializes the balance to $dollars.cents
//initializes the interest rate to rate percent

…//The rest of the BankAccount definition

};

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Constructor Definition
• The constructor for the BankAccount class
could be defined as
BankAccount::BankAccount(int dollars, int cents, double rate)
{
if ((dollars < 0) || (cents < 0) || ( rate < 0 ))
{
cout << “Illegal values for money or rate\n”;
exit(1);
}
balance = dollars + 0.01 * cents;
interest_rate = rate;
}

– Note that the class name and function name are the same

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 17.1

Exception Handling
• How are exceptions handled in C++?

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 17.1

Exception Handling Basics

• It is often easier to write a program by first

assuming that nothing incorrect will happen
• Once it works correctly for the expected
cases, add code to handle the exceptional
cases
• Exception handling is commonly used to
handle error situations
– Once an error is handled, it is no longer an error

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Functions and
Exception Handling
• A common use of exception handling:
– Functions with a special case that is handled in
different ways depending on how the function is
used
– If the function is used in different programs, each
program may require a different action when the
special case occurs

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Exception Handling
Mechanism
• In C++, exception handling proceeds by:
– Some library software or your code signals that
something unusual has happened
– This is called throwing an exception
– At some other place in your program you place
the
code that deals with the exceptional case
– This is called handling the exception

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The Try Block Outline
• The try block encloses code that you want to
"try" but that could cause a problem
• The basic outline of a try block is:

try
{
Code_To_Try
Possibly_Throw_An_Exception
More_Code
}

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The catch-block
• Something that is thrown goes from one place
to another
• In C++ throw causes the flow of control to go
to another place
– When an exception is thrown, the try block stops
executing and the catch-block begins execution
– This is catching or handling the exception

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The catch-block Parameter

• The catch-block parameter, (recall that the

catch-block is not a function) does two things:
– The type of the catch-block parameter identifies
the kind of value the catch-block can catch
– The catch-block parameter provides a name for
the value caught so you can write code using the
value that is caught

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try-blocks and if-else
• try-blocks are very similar to if-else statements
– If everything is normal, the entire try-block is
executed
– else, if an exception is thrown, the catch-block is
executed
• A big difference between try-blocks and if-else
statements is the try-block's ability to send a
message to one of its branches

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