C++
C++ Classes and Objects
C++ CLASSES AND OBJECTS
In this tutorial, we will learn about objects and classes and how to use them
in C++ with the help of examples.
In previous tutorials, we learned about functions and variables. Sometimes
it's desirable to put related functions and data in one place so that it's
logical and easier to work with.
Suppose, we need to store the length, breadth, and height of a rectangular
room and calculate its area and volume.
To handle this task, we can create three variables, say, length, breadth,
and height along with the functions calculateArea() and calculateVolume().
However, in C++, rather than creating separate variables and functions,
we can also wrap these related data and functions in a single place (by
creating objects). This programming paradigm is known as object-oriented
programming.
C++ CLASS
A class is a blueprint for the object.
We can think of a class as a sketch (prototype) of a house. It contains all
the details about the floors, doors, windows, etc. Based on these
descriptions we build the house. House is the object.
Create a Class
A class is defined in C++ using keyword class followed by the name of the
class.
The body of the class is defined inside the curly brackets and terminated
by a semicolon at the end.
CLASS SYNTAX
class className {
// some data
// some functions
};
FOR EXAMPLE,
class Room {
public:
double length;
double breadth;
double height;
double calculateArea(){
return length * breadth;
}
double calculateVolume(){
return length * breadth * height;
}
};
Here, we defined a class named Room.
The variables length, breadth, and height declared inside the class are
known as data members. And, the functions calculateArea() and
calculateVolume() are known as member functions of a class.
C++ 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, we need to
create objects.
Syntax to Define Object in C++
className objectVariableName;
We can create objects of Room class (defined in the above example) as
follows:
SAMPLE FUNCTION
// sample function
void sampleFunction() {
// create objects
Room room1, room2;
}
int main(){
// create objects
Room room3, room4;
}
Here, two objects room1 and room2 of the Room class are created in
sampleFunction(). Similarly, the objects room3 and room4 are created in
main().
As we can see, we can create objects of a class in any function of the
program. We can also create objects of a class within the class itself, or in
other classes.
Also, we can create as many objects as we want from a single class.
C++ ACCESS DATA MEMBERS AND
MEMBER FUNCTIONS
We can access the data members and member functions of a class by
using a . (dot) operator. For example,
[Link]();
This will call the calculateArea() function inside the Room class for object
room2.
Similarly, the data members can be accessed as:
[Link] = 5.5;
EXAMPLE 1: OBJECT AND CLASS IN C++ PROGRAMMING
// Program to illustrate the working of
int main() {
// objects and class in C++ Programming
// create object of Room class
#include <iostream>
Room room1;
using namespace std;
// assign values to data members
// create a class
[Link] = 42.5;
class Room {
[Link] = 30.8;
[Link] = 19.2;
public:
double length;
// calculate and display the area and volume of
double breadth;
the room
double height;
cout << "Area of Room = " <<
[Link]() << endl;
double calculateArea() {
cout << "Volume of Room = " <<
return length * breadth;
[Link]() << endl;
}
return 0;
double calculateVolume() {
}
return length * breadth * height;
}
};
We then called the functions calculateArea() and calculateVolume() to
perform the necessary calculations.
Note the use of the keyword public in the program. This means the
members are public and can be accessed anywhere from the program.
As per our needs, we can also create private members using the private
keyword. The private members of a class can only be accessed from within
the class. For example,
class Test {
private:
int a;
void function1() { }
public:
int b;
void function2() { }
}
Here, a and function1() are private. Thus they cannot be accessed from outside
the class.
On the other hand, b and function2() are accessible from everywhere in the
program.
To learn more about public and private keywords, please visit our C++ Class
Access Modifiers tutorial.
EXAMPLE 2: USING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE IN C++ CLASS
double calculateArea() {
#include <iostream> return length * breadth;
using namespace std; }
class Room { double calculateVolume() {
return length * breadth * height;
private: }
double length; };
double breadth;
double height; int main() {
public: // create object of Room class
Room room1;
// function to initialize private variables
void initData(double len, double brth, double // pass the values of private variables as
hgt) { arguments
length = len; [Link](42.5, 30.8, 19.2);
breadth = brth;
height = hgt; cout << "Area of Room = " <<
} [Link]() << endl;
cout << "Volume of Room = " <<
[Link]() << endl;
The above example is nearly identical to the first example, except that the class
variables are now private.
Since the variables are now private, we cannot access them directly from main().
Hence, using the following code would be invalid:
// invalid code
[Link] = 42.5;
[Link] = 30.8;
[Link] = 19.2;
Instead, we use the public function initData() to initialize the private variables via
the function parameters double len, double brth, and double hgt.
