CS 3505: Software Practice II
Lecture 3:
Object-Oriented Programming in
C++
Assignment
• Some good questions and discussion on Piazza
(Some summaries and supporting assignment text)
– How do I make compile.txt and what is it?
• Cut-and-paste your compilation command into a text file
“Save the compilation command in a text file called compile.txt.”
– My populations are real close to the expected so good
enough?
• Compute changes in both populations before updating
“compute the change in population and then update R and F by
adding deltaRabbit and deltaFoxes respectively”
– The autograder says I have a wrong “\n” at the end
• The assignment asks you to add newlines elsewhere
“This function should not add a newline character to the bar chart
line”
C++ Classes
• Why object-oriented programming?
• Major principles
– Encapsulation
– Abstraction
– Inheritance
– Polymorphism
Goal of Object-Oriented Programming
• Make C++ look like a specialized language
for solving the problems you want to solve!
– Add types (objects) that support this
C-style Struct
• Collect related struct HealthInfo {
int id;
information into a
double weight;
named type bool rideMotorcycle;
structure bool smoke;
• Declare variables double height;
int age;
of that type
int exercise;
int drink;
HealthInfo dj; bool playVideoGamesAllNight)
};
Access is still an issue
HealthInfo dj;
dj.age = -10;
dj.drinks = ?
• Struct
– fails abstraction – internal representation has
to be known
– fails encapsulation – internals are exposed
C++ Class Basics
• Keyword class
• Data members (instance variables)
• Member functions - methods
• Constructor
• Make a point class
Class definition
class Point {
}; // don’t forget ;
• Point becomes a new type to use
Point mypoint;
Data members
• Make private data members
private:
double x,y;
• Keyword private: or public: or protected:
• Sets access mode until next access
keyword. Default start is private.
– Public: accessible to all code
– Protected: access to class code and derived
classes
– Private: only access from class code
• Friend code can also access
Constructors
• When you declare an object variable,
memory is reserved for the object’s data
members
• How are they initialized?
– Many ways
• Primitive data members have no default values
• Object data members have their default
constructor called
• All of this can be overridden in a constructor
Constructors
• System automatically makes a default
constructor
Point myPt; // calls default constructor
• You can overload the constructor to have
different parameters
• If you make your own, then need to also
make the default (if you want it).
Point() {} // a default constructor.
Point() = default; // new C++11 option
Custom Constructors
• Should assign values to each data
member
Point(int initx, int inity) {
x = initx;
y = inity;
}
– Data member x gets default constructed and then
initx is assigned to it.
Initializer List
• Rather than assign in constructor body
• Can use initializer list
• avoids default construction followed by assignment
– Handles case of no default constructor
– Avoids name clash
– Looks mysterious
Point(int x, int y) : x(x), y(y) { }
or (in C++11)
Point(int x, int y) : x{x}, y{y} { }
Brace-or-Equals initialization
• Can also provide default initialization for
data members directly
– Two different styles
private:
double x = 1.0, y {4};
These get used if not set in initializer list or
overridden in the constructor
Different Than Java
Java C++
Point c = new Point(2,3); Point center(2,3);
• Weirdly, the constructor
• Makes a new Point object notation hangs off the
using a constructor and variable name
assigns a reference to c • Never () for default
• The point goes away – just use
when nothing is Point center;
referencing it. • Deconstructed when
• Without the new, is just a leave scope
reference. • What do you think of
Point center = Point(2,3);
Accessing Members of a Class
• For an object P1 we can access public
members by
– “dot” notation: P1.x; P1.display();
• For a pointer to an object, P1ptr, we use
– “arrow” notation: P1ptr->x; P1ptr->display
• These are legal, but mostly weird
(&P1)->x; (*P1ptr).x
• Inside class code, the keyword “this” is a
pointer to the object that called a method
this->x *this is the actual object
Class Methods
• Typically fall into a few categories
– Constructors
– Setters/getters
– Operators
– Normal methods
Setters/Getters
• Also a religious war topic
– Typical setter/getter
// Get the value of the private x data member
int get_x() {
return x;
}
// Set the value of the private x data member
void set_x(double newx) {
x = newx;
}
– Why is this contentious?
Overloading Operators
• We want our data types to act like built-in
types
newpt = pt * 2.0;
• Overload operators
– List of operators
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operators_in_C_and_C%2B%2B
Model for Overloading
• The compiler transforms the infix notation
to a method or function call
newpt = pt * 2.0;
becomes
newpt = pt.operator*(2.0);
Once you know that, defining them is easy
An Overloaded *
• One way
Point operator*(double scaleFactor) {
Point res;
res.x = x * scaleFactor;
res.y = y * scaleFactor;
return res;
};
• Another
Point res(x * scaleFactor, y * scaleFactor);
return res;
Overload <<
• Want
cout << myPoint << endl;
– What does this get transformed into?
• << is evaluated left-to-right
• So cout << myPoint needs to
evaluate to a stream so the << endl
works.
Need to be outside friend
function
• In class, prototype the friend function
friend ostream& operator<<(ostream& output,
Point pt);
• Outside class, make function
ostream& operator<<(ostream& output, Point pt)
{
output << "(" << pt.x << "," << pt.y << ")";
return output;
}
• & makes a reference to the original stream
• Doesn’t need friend if it uses getters to access
data members
Break
New and Delete
• Can dynamically
allocate memory int* p = new int(4);
– New allocates space
for object and calls
delete p;
constructor
– Delete frees up the
memory
• Allocation on the heap
– Fairly expensive
operation
• Look at var table
New and Delete
• Can dynamically
allocate memory int* p = new int(4);
– New allocates space
for object and calls
delete p;
constructor
– Delete frees up the Symbol table
memory
int* p 1000
• Allocation on the heap Stack
– Fairly expensive
operation 1000: 4000
• Look at var table Heap
4000: 4
Arrays
• Can dynamically allocate an array
int *x = new int[10];
x[0] = 5;
• Note the equivalence of C-style arrays and
pointers
• Special delete
delete [] x;
• Pointer math – knows underlying size
x++;
*(x+1)
Problems
• Memory leak for (unsigned int i = 0;
– For every new called, i < 1000000000;
need a delete i++ ) {
• End of the program int* p = new int(4);
cleans up your }
messes
– Do not rely on that
C++ Function Return Styles
int getVal()
• the value of the expression in the return is copied
and returned to the calling code.
int& getVal()
• A reference to the return object is returned. This
better not be to a local leaving scope.
int* getVal()
• a pointer to an int is returned. The return better
return an address to something, and that
something should persist after the function is
done.
Java Detox
A Reminder of Java
• Declare a variable
Point center;
• These are really reference types
– no allocation of memory for a Point
• Assign it to an object allocated with new
center = new Point();
– the object is smart and knows how many
references use that object
– the object removes itself when no more
references
Declare variables
Java C++
• Point center; • Point center;
– make a ref waiting to get – allocate memory for a
an object Point using the default
– If assigned, the ref count constructor
goes down when center – center is fully usable
leaves scope after this statement
– object is destructed
when center leaves
scope
– Instance variables
• Primitives go away
• Destructor called on
objects
New
Java C++
• Point c = new Point(2,3) • Point* center = new Point();
• new creates a Point • new allocates memory for a
object that deallocates Point and calls a
itself when no more constructor
– it returns an address to the
references memory
– that address must be stored
in a pointer
• Must use a delete on the
pointer to free the memory
New
Java C++
• Point c = new Point(2,3) • Point* center = new Point();
• new object reference is • output of new is only
assigned to implicit assigned to pointers.
reference type. • Not
Point center = new Point();
• Not even to a reference
Point& center = new Point();
this
Java C++
• this holds a reference to • this is pointer to the object
the object that called a that called a method.
method.
this.update(); this->update();
