Oops Notes
Oops Notes
Tip: The "Don't Repeat Yourself" (DRY) principle is about reducing the repetition
of code. You should extract out the codes that are common for the application,
and place them at a single place and reuse them instead of repeating it.
Look at the following illustration to see the difference between class and
objects:
class
Fruit
objects
Apple
Banana
Mango
Another example:
class
Car
objects
Volvo
Audi
Toyota
When the individual objects are created, they inherit all the variables and
functions from the class.
You will learn much more about classes and objects in the next chapter.
C++ Classes/Objects
C++ is an object-oriented programming language.
Everything in C++ is associated with classes and objects, along with its
attributes and methods. For example: in real life, a car is an object. The car
has attributes, such as weight and color, and methods, such as drive and
brake.
Attributes and methods are basically variables and functions that belongs to
the class. These are often referred to as "class members".
A class is a user-defined data type that we can use in our program, and it works
as an object constructor, or a "blueprint" for creating objects.
Create a Class
To create a class, use the class keyword:
Example
Create a class called "MyClass":
Example explained
• The class keyword is used to create a class called MyClass.
• The public keyword is an access specifier, which specifies that
members (attributes and methods) of the class are accessible from
outside the class. You will learn more about access specifiers later.
• Inside the class, there is an integer variable myNum and a string
variable myString. When variables are declared within a class, they are
called attributes.
• At last, end the class definition with a semicolon ;.
Create an Object
In C++, an object is created from a class. We have already created the class
named MyClass, so now we can use this to create objects.
To create an object of MyClass, specify the class name, followed by the object
name.
To access the class attributes (myNum and myString), use the dot syntax (.) on the
object:
Example
Create an object called "myObj" and access the attributes:
int main() {
MyClass myObj; // Create an object of MyClass
Example
// Create a Car class with some attributes
class Car {
public:
string brand;
string model;
int year;
};
int main() {
// Create an object of Car
Car carObj1;
carObj1.brand = "BMW";
carObj1.model = "X5";
carObj1.year = 1999;
In the following example, we define a function inside the class, and we name it
"myMethod".
Note: You access methods just like you access attributes; by creating an object
of the class and using the dot syntax (.):
Inside Example
class MyClass { // The class
public: // Access specifier
void myMethod() { // Method/function defined inside the class
cout << "Hello World!";
}
};
int main() {
MyClass myObj; // Create an object of MyClass
myObj.myMethod(); // Call the method
return 0;
}
To define a function outside the class definition, you have to declare it inside
the class and then define it outside of the class. This is done by specifiying the
name of the class, followed the scope resolution :: operator, followed by the
name of the function:
Outside Example
class MyClass { // The class
public: // Access specifier
void myMethod(); // Method/function declaration
};
int main() {
MyClass myObj; // Create an object of MyClass
myObj.myMethod(); // Call the method
return 0;
}
Parameters
You can also add parameters:
Example
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
class Car {
public:
int speed(int maxSpeed);
};
int main() {
Car myObj; // Create an object of Car
cout << myObj.speed(200); // Call the method with an argument
return 0;
}
C++ Constructors
Constructors
A constructor in C++ is a special method that is automatically called when an
object of a class is created.
Example
class MyClass { // The class
public: // Access specifier
MyClass() { // Constructor
cout << "Hello World!";
}
};
int main() {
MyClass myObj; // Create an object of MyClass (this will call the
constructor)
return 0;
}
Note: The constructor has the same name as the class, it is always public, and
it does not have any return value.
Constructor Parameters
Constructors can also take parameters (just like regular functions), which can
be useful for setting initial values for attributes.
The following class have brand, model and year attributes, and a constructor with
different parameters. Inside the constructor we set the attributes equal to the
constructor parameters (brand=x, etc). When we call the constructor (by creating
an object of the class), we pass parameters to the constructor, which will set
the value of the corresponding attributes to the same:
Example
class Car { // The class
public: // Access specifier
string brand; // Attribute
string model; // Attribute
int year; // Attribute
Car(string x, string y, int z) { // Constructor with parameters
brand = x;
model = y;
year = z;
}
};
int main() {
// Create Car objects and call the constructor with different values
Car carObj1("BMW", "X5", 1999);
Car carObj2("Ford", "Mustang", 1969);
// Print values
cout << carObj1.brand << " " << carObj1.model << " " <<
carObj1.year << "\n";
cout << carObj2.brand << " " << carObj2.model << " " <<
carObj2.year << "\n";
return 0;
}
Just like functions, constructors can also be defined outside the class. First,
declare the constructor inside the class, and then define it outside of the class
by specifying the name of the class, followed by the scope
resolution :: operator, followed by the name of the constructor (which is the
same as the class):
Example
class Car { // The class
public: // Access specifier
string brand; // Attribute
string model; // Attribute
int year; // Attribute
Car(string x, string y, int z); // Constructor declaration
};
// Constructor definition outside the class
Car::Car(string x, string y, int z) {
brand = x;
model = y;
year = z;
}
int main() {
// Create Car objects and call the constructor with different values
Car carObj1("BMW", "X5", 1999);
Car carObj2("Ford", "Mustang", 1969);
// Print values
cout << carObj1.brand << " " << carObj1.model << " " <<
carObj1.year << "\n";
cout << carObj2.brand << " " << carObj2.model << " " <<
carObj2.year << "\n";
return 0;
}
C++ Access Specifiers
Access Specifiers
By now, you are quite familiar with the public keyword that appears in all of our
class examples:
Example
class MyClass { // The class
public: // Access specifier
// class members goes here
};
The public keyword is an access specifier. Access specifiers define how the
members (attributes and methods) of a class can be accessed. In the example
above, the members are public - which means that they can be accessed and
modified from outside the code.
However, what if we want members to be private and hidden from the outside
world?
Example
class MyClass {
public: // Public access specifier
int x; // Public attribute
private: // Private access specifier
int y; // Private attribute
};
int main() {
MyClass myObj;
myObj.x = 25; // Allowed (public)
myObj.y = 50; // Not allowed (private)
return 0;
}
error: y is private
Tip: It is considered good practice to declare your class attributes as private (as
often as you can). This will reduce the possibility of yourself (or others) to mess
up the code. This is also the main ingredient of the Encapsulation concept,
which you will learn more about in the next chapter.
Note: By default, all members of a class are private if you don't specify an
access specifier:
Example
class MyClass {
int x; // Private attribute
int y; // Private attribute
};
C++ Encapsulation
Encapsulation
The meaning of Encapsulation, is to make sure that "sensitive" data is hidden
from users. To achieve this, you must declare class variables/attributes
as private (cannot be accessed from outside the class). If you want others to
read or modify the value of a private member, you can provide
public get and set methods.
Example
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
class Employee {
private:
// Private attribute
int salary;
public:
// Setter
void setSalary(int s) {
salary = s;
}
// Getter
int getSalary() {
return salary;
}
};
int main() {
Employee myObj;
myObj.setSalary(50000);
cout << myObj.getSalary();
return 0;
}
Example explained
The public getSalary() method returns the value of the private salary attribute.
Inside main(), we create an object of the Employee class. Now we can use
the setSalary() method to set the value of the private attribute to 50000. Then we
call the getSalary() method on the object to return the value.
Why Encapsulation?
• It is considered good practice to declare your class attributes as private
(as often as you can). Encapsulation ensures better control of your data,
because you (or others) can change one part of the code without affecting
other parts
• Increased security of data
C++ Inheritance
Inheritance
In C++, it is possible to inherit attributes and methods from one class to
another. We group the "inheritance concept" into two categories:
• derived class (child) - the class that inherits from another class
• base class (parent) - the class being inherited from
In the example below, the Car class (child) inherits the attributes and methods
from the Vehicle class (parent):
Example
// Base class
class Vehicle {
public:
string brand = "Ford";
void honk() {
cout << "Tuut, tuut! \n" ;
}
};
// Derived class
class Car: public Vehicle {
public:
string model = "Mustang";
};
int main() {
Car myCar;
myCar.honk();
cout << myCar.brand + " " + myCar.model;
return 0;
}
Why And When To Use "Inheritance"?
- It is useful for code reusability: reuse attributes and methods of an existing
class when you create a new class.
Example
// Base class (parent)
class MyClass {
public:
void myFunction() {
cout << "Some content in parent class." ;
}
};
int main() {
MyGrandChild myObj;
myObj.myFunction();
return 0;
}
Multiple Inheritance
A class can also be derived from more than one base class, using a comma-
separated list:
Example
// Base class
class MyClass {
public:
void myFunction() {
cout << "Some content in parent class." ;
}
};
// Derived class
class MyChildClass: public MyClass, public MyOtherClass {
};
int main() {
MyChildClass myObj;
myObj.myFunction();
myObj.myOtherFunction();
return 0;
}
C++ Inheritance Access
Access Specifiers
You learned from the Access Specifiers chapter that there are three specifiers
available in C++. Until now, we have only used public (members of a class are
accessible from outside the class) and private (members can only be accessed
within the class). The third specifier, protected, is similar to private, but it can
also be accessed in the inherited class:
Example
// Base class
class Employee {
protected: // Protected access specifier
int salary;
};
// Derived class
class Programmer: public Employee {
public:
int bonus;
void setSalary(int s) {
salary = s;
}
int getSalary() {
return salary;
}
};
int main() {
Programmer myObj;
myObj.setSalary(50000);
myObj.bonus = 15000;
cout << "Salary: " << myObj.getSalary() << "\n";
cout << "Bonus: " << myObj.bonus << "\n";
return 0;
}
C++ Polymorphism
Polymorphism
Polymorphism means "many forms", and it occurs when we have many classes
that are related to each other by inheritance.
For example, think of a base class called Animal that has a method
called animalSound(). Derived classes of Animals could be Pigs, Cats, Dogs, Birds
- And they also have their own implementation of an animal sound (the pig
oinks, and the cat meows, etc.):
Example
// Base class
class Animal {
public:
void animalSound() {
cout << "The animal makes a sound \n";
}
};
// Derived class
class Pig : public Animal {
public:
void animalSound() {
cout << "The pig says: wee wee \n";
}
};
// Derived class
class Dog : public Animal {
public:
void animalSound() {
cout << "The dog says: bow wow \n";
}
};
Remember from the Inheritance chapter that we use the : symbol to inherit
from a class.
Now we can create Pig and Dog objects and override the animalSound() method:
Example
// Base class
class Animal {
public:
void animalSound() {
cout << "The animal makes a sound \n";
}
};
// Derived class
class Pig : public Animal {
public:
void animalSound() {
cout << "The pig says: wee wee \n";
}
};
// Derived class
class Dog : public Animal {
public:
void animalSound() {
cout << "The dog says: bow wow \n";
}
};
int main() {
Animal myAnimal;
Pig myPig;
Dog myDog;
myAnimal.animalSound();
myPig.animalSound();
myDog.animalSound();
return 0;
}
Why And When To Use "Inheritance" and "Polymorphism"?
- It is useful for code reusability: reuse attributes and methods of an existing
class when you create a new class.