An array in C/C++ or be it in any programming language is a collection of
similar data items stored at contiguous memory locations and elements
can be accessed randomly using indices of an array. They can be used
to store the collection of primitive data types such as int, float, double,
char, etc of any particular type. To add to it, an array in C/C++ can store
derived data types such as structures, pointers, etc. Given below is the
picture representation of an array.
Example:
Let’s consider an example of taking random integers from the user.
Array
Array of 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[number of objects];
The Array of Objects stores objects. An array of a class type is also
known as an array of objects.
Example#1:
Storing more than one Employee data. Let’s assume there is an array of
objects for storing employee data emp[50].
Below is the C++ program for storing data of one Employee:
// C++ program to implement
// the above approach
#include<iostream>
using namespace std;
class Employee
{
int id;
char name[30];
public:
void getdata();//Declaration of function
void putdata();//Declaration of function
};
void Employee::getdata(){//Defining of function
cout<<"Enter Id : ";
cin>>id;
cout<<"Enter Name : ";
cin>>name;
}
void Employee::putdata(){//Defining of function
cout<<id<<" ";
cout<<name<<" ";
cout<<endl;
}
int main(){
Employee emp; //One member
emp.getdata();//Accessing the function
emp.putdata();//Accessing the function
return 0;
}
Let’s understand the above example –
In the above example, a class named Employee with id and name is
being considered.
The two functions are declared-
o getdata(): Taking user input for id and name.
o putdata(): Showing the data on the console screen.
This program can take the data of only one Employee. What if there is a
requirement to add data of more than one Employee. Here comes the
answer Array of Objects. An array of objects can be used if there is a
need to store data of more than one employee. Below is the C++ program
to implement the above approach-
// C++ program to implement
// the above approach
#include<iostream>
using namespace std;
class Employee
{
int id;
char name[30];
public:
// Declaration of function
void getdata();
// Declaration of function
void putdata();
};
// Defining the function outside
// the class
void Employee::getdata()
{
cout << "Enter Id : ";
cin >> id;
cout << "Enter Name : ";
cin >> name;
}
// Defining the function outside
// the class
void Employee::putdata()
{
cout << id << " ";
cout << name << " ";
cout << endl;
}
// Driver code
int main()
{
// This is an array of objects having
// maximum limit of 30 Employees
Employee emp[30];
int n, i;
cout << "Enter Number of Employees - ";
cin >> n;
// Accessing the function
for(i = 0; i < n; i++)
emp[i].getdata();
cout << "Employee Data - " << endl;
// Accessing the function
for(i = 0; i < n; i++)
emp[i].putdata();
}
Output:
Explanation:
In this example, more than one Employee’s details with an Employee id
and name can be stored.
Employee emp[30] – This is an array of objects having a maximum limit
of 30 Employees.
Two for loops are being used-
o First one to take the input from user by calling emp[i].getdata()
function.
o Second one to print the data of Employee by calling the
function emp[i].putdata() function.
Example#2:
// C++ program to implement
// the above approach
#include<iostream>
using namespace std;
class item
{
char name[30];
int price;
public:
void getitem();
void printitem();
};
// Function to get item details
void item::getitem()
{
cout << "Item Name = ";
cin >> name;
cout << "Price = ";
cin >> price;
}
// Function to print item
// details
void item ::printitem()
{
cout << "Name : " << name <<
"\n";
cout << "Price : " << price <<
"\n";
}
const int size = 3;
// Driver code
int main()
{
item t[size];
for(int i = 0; i < size; i++)
{
cout << "Item : " <<
(i + 1) << "\n";
t[i].getitem();
}
for(int i = 0; i < size; i++)
{
cout << "Item Details : " <<
(i + 1) << "\n";
t[i].printitem();
}
}
Output:
Advantages of Array of Objects:
1. The array of objects represent storing multiple objects in a single
name.
2. In an array of objects, the data can be accessed randomly by using the
index number.
3. Reduce the time and memory by storing the data in a single variable.
Disadvantages of Array of Objects:
1. The main disadvantage with arrays of objects is that the constructor
runs for each object. If the default constructor doesn’t do the right thing
for multiple objects in the array, we have to specify the constructor
arguments for each element at the time the array is declared, which we
wouldn’t have to do if we allocated an array of object pointers, and
allocated objects as needed.
// C++ program to implement
// the above approach
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
class Employee {
int id;
char name[30];
public:
Employee() { cout << "Constructor Run\n"; }
void getdata(); // Declaration of function
void putdata(); // Declaration of function
};
void Employee::getdata()
{ // Defining of function
cout << "Enter Id : ";
cin >> id;
cout << "Enter Name : ";
cin >> name;
}
void Employee::putdata()
{ // Defining of function
cout << id << " ";
cout << name << " ";
cout << endl;
}
int main()
{
Employee emp[5]; // One member
return 0;
}
Output
Constructor Run
Constructor Run
Constructor Run
Constructor Run
Constructor Run
