Object Oriented Programming (OOP) Lecture No.
12
Review
Constant
data members Constant objects Static data members
Static Data Member
Definition A variable that is part of a class, yet is not part of an object of that class, is called static data member
Static Data Member
They
are shared by all instances of the class They do not belong to any particular instance of a class
Class vs. Instance Variable
Student
s1, s2, s3;
Instance Variable
Class Variable
s2(rollNo,)
Class Space
s3(rollNo,)
s1(rollNo,)
Static Data Member (Syntax)
Keyword
static is used to make a data member static
class ClassName{ static DataType VariableName; };
Defining Static Data Member
Static
class But they are defined outside the class
data member is declared inside the
Defining Static Data Member
class ClassName{ static DataType VariableName; }; DataType ClassName::VariableName;
Initializing Static Data Member
Static
data members should be initialized once at file scope They are initialized at the time of definition
Example
class Student{ private: static int noOfStudents; public: }; int Student::noOfStudents = 0; /*private static member cannot be accessed outside the class except for initialization*/
Initializing Static Data Member
If
static data members are not explicitly initialized at the time of definition then they are initialized to 0
Example
int Student::noOfStudents; is equivalent to int Student::noOfStudents=0;
Accessing Static Data Member
To
access a static data member there are two ways
Access like a normal data member Access using a scope resolution operator ::
Example
class Student{ public: static int noOfStudents; }; int Student::noOfStudents; int main(){ Student aStudent; [Link] = 1; Student::noOfStudents = 1; }
Life of Static Data Member
They
are created even when there is no object of a class They remain in memory even when all objects of a class are destroyed
Example
class Student{ public: static int noOfStudents; }; int Student::noOfStudents; int main(){ Student::noOfStudents = 1; }
Example
class Student{ public: static int noOfStudents; }; int Student::noOfStudents; int main(){ { Student aStudent; [Link] = 1; } Student::noOfStudents = 1; }
Uses
They
can be used to store information that is required by all objects, like global variables
Example
Modify
the class Student such that one can know the number of student created in a system
Example
class Student{ public: static int noOfStudents; Student(); ~Student(); }; int Student::noOfStudents = 0;
Example
Student::Student(){ noOfStudents++; } Student::~Student(){ noOfStudents--; }
Example
int Student::noOfStudents = 0; int main(){ cout <<Student::noOfStudents <<endl; Student studentA; cout <<Student::noOfStudents <<endl; Student studentB; cout <<Student::noOfStudents <<endl; }
Output: 0 1 2
Problem
noOfStudents
is accessible outside the class Bad design as the local data member is kept public
Static Member Function
Definition: The function that needs access to the members of a class, yet does not need to be invoked by a particular object, is called static member function
Static Member Function
They
are used to access static data members Access mechanism for static member functions is same as that of static data members They cannot access any non-static members
Example
class Student{ static int noOfStudents; int rollNo; public: static int getTotalStudent(){ return noOfStudents; } }; int main(){ int i = Student::getTotalStudents(); }
Accessing non static data members
int Student::getTotalStudents(){
return rollNo;
} int main(){
int i = Student::getTotalStudents(); /*Error: There is no instance of Student, rollNo cannot be accessed*/
}
this Pointer
this
pointer is passed implicitly to member functions this pointer is not passed to static member functions Reason is static member functions cannot access non static data members
Global Variable vs. Static Members
Alternative
to static member is to use global variable Global variables are accessible to all entities of the program
Against information hiding
Array of Objects
Array
of objects can only be created if an object can be created without supplying an explicit initializer There must always be a default constructor if we want to create array of objects
Example
class Test{ public: }; int main(){ Test array[2]; // OK }
Example
class Test{ public: Test(); }; int main(){ Test array[2]; // OK }
Example
class Test{ public: Test(int i); }; int main(){ Test array[2]; // Error }
Example
class Test{ public: Test(int i); } int main(){ Test array[2] = {Test(0),Test(0)}; }
Example
class Test{ public: Test(int i); } int main(){ Test a(1),b(2); Test array[2] = {a,b}; }
