Chapter 7

INTRODUCTION TO CLASSES

Programming Fundamentals

Chapter 7

Classes
Information Hiding
Member functions
Dynamic Memory Allocation using new and
delete operators

Programming Fundamentals

Overview

Object-oriented programming (OOP) encapsulates

data (attributes) and functions (behavior) into
packages called classes.
The data and functions of a class are intimately tied
together.

A class is like a blueprint. Out of a blueprint, a

builder can build a house. Out of a class, we can
create many objects of the same class.

Classes have the property of information hiding.

Implementation details are hidden within the classes
themselves.
Programming Fundamentals

CLASSES

In C++ programming, classes are structures that contain

variables along with functions for manipulating that data.

The functions and variables defined in a class are referred

to as class members.

Class variables are referred to as data members, while class

functions are referred to as member functions.

Classes are referred to as user-defined data types because

you can work with a class as a single unit, or objects, in the
same way you work with variables.
Programming Fundamentals

Class definition
The most important feature of C++ programming is class
definition with the class keyword. You define classes the same
way you define structures.
Example:

class Time {
public:
Time();
void setTime( int, int, int );
void printMilitary();
void printStandard();
private:
int hour;
int minute;
int second;
};
Programming Fundamentals

Instantiating an object

Once the class has been defined, it can be used as a type in

object, array and pointer definitions as follows:
Time sunset,
// object of type Times
ArOfTimes[5], // array of Times objects
*ptrTime;
// pointer to a Times objects

The class name becomes a new type specifier. There may

be many objects of a class, just as there may be many
variables of a type such as int.
The programmer can create new class types as needed.

Programming Fundamentals

INFORMATION HIDING

The principle of information hiding states that any class

members that other programmers do not need to access or
know about should be hidden.

Many programmers prefer to make all of their data

member private in order to prevent clients from
accidentally assigning the wrong value to a variable or
from viewing the internal workings of their programs.

Programming Fundamentals

Access Specifiers

Access specifiers control a clients access to data members

and member functions. There are four levels of access
specifiers: public, private, protected, and friend.
The public access specifier allows anyone to call a classs
function member or to modify a data member.
The private access specifier is one of the key elements in
information hiding since it prevents clients from calling
member functions or accessing data members.

Note: Class members of both access types are accessible from

any of a classs member functions.

Programming Fundamentals

Example
class Time {
public:
Time();
void setTime( int, int, int );
void printMilitary();
void printStandard();
private:
int hour;
int minute;
int second;
};

Time
hour
minute
second
setTime()
printMilitary
pringStandard()

private

public

A class private data members are normally not accessible

outside the class
Programming Fundamentals

Interface and Implementation Files

The separation of classes into separate interface and

implementation files is a fundamental software
development technique.

The interface code refers to the data member and

function member declarations inside a classs
braces.

The implementation code refers to a classs function

definitions and any code that assigns values to a
classs data members.

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Preventing Multiple Inclusion

With large program, you need to ensure that you do not include
multiple instances of the same header file.
C++ generates an error if you attempt to compile a program that
includes multiple instances of the same header file.

To prevent this kind of error, we use the #define preprocessor

directive with the #if and #endif directives in header files.

The #if and #endif determine which portions of a file to compile

depending on the result of a conditional expression.

The syntax for the #if and #endif preprocessor directives:

#if conditional expression
statements to compile;
#endif

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Example:
#if !defined(TIME1_H)
#define TIME1_H
class Time {
public:
Time();
void setTime( int, int, int );
void printMilitary();
void printStandard();
private:
int hour;
int minute;
int second;
};
#endif

Note: Common practice

when defining a header files
constant is to use the header
files name in uppercase
letters appended with H.
For example, the constant
for the time1.h header is
usually defined as TIME1_H.

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MEMBER FUNCTIONS

Inline functions
Although member functions are usually defined in an
implementation file, they can also be defined in an interface
file. Functions defined in an interface file are called inline
functions.

Example:

Stocks
iNumShares
dPurchasePricePerShare
dCurrentPricePerShare

getTotalValue()

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class Stocks {
public:
double getTotalValue(int iShares, double dCurPrice){
double dCurrentValue;
iNumShares = iShares;
dCurrentPricePerShare = dCurPrice;
dCurrentValue = iNumShares*dCurrentPricePerShare;
return dCurrentValue;
}
private:
int iNumShares;
double dPurchasePricePerShare;
double dCurrentPricePerShare;
};

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Member functions in Implementation File

Example 7.3.1
//stocks.h
#if !defined(STOCKS_H)
#define STOCKS_H
class Stocks{
public:
double getTotalValue(int iShares, double dCurPrice);
private:
int iNumShares;
double dPurchasePricePerShare;
double dCurrentPricePerShare;
};
#endif

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// stocks.cpp
#include stocks.h
#include<iostream.h>
double Stocks::getTotalValue(int iShares, double dCurPrice){
double dCurrentValue;
iNumShares = iShares;
dCurrentPricePerShare = dCurPrice;
dCurrentValue = iNumShares*dCurrentPricePerShare;
return dCurrentValue;
}
void main(){
Stocks stockPick;
cout << stockPick.getTotalValue(200, 64.25) << endl;
}
Output of the above program:
12850
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The format of member functions included in the

implementation section is as follows:
return-type Class-name::functionName(parameter-list)
{
function body
}

In order for your class to identify which functions in an

implementation section belong to it, you precede the
function name in the function header with the class name
and the scope resolution operator (::).

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Access Functions

Access to a class private data should be controlled by the use

of member functions, called access functions.

For example, to allow clients to read the value of private data,

the class can provide a get function.

To enable clients to modify private data, the class can provide a

set function. A set member function can provide data validation
capabilities to ensure that the value is set properly.

A set function can also translate between the form of data used
in the interface and the form used in the implementation.

A get function need not expose the data in raw format; rather,
it can edit data and limit the view of the data the client will see.

Programming Fundamentals

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An example of set and get functions

// time1.h
#if !defined(TIME1_H)
#define TIME1_H
class Time {
public:
Time();
// constructor
void setTime( int, int, int ); // set hour, minute, second
void printMilitary();
// print military time format
void printStandard();
// print standard time format
private:
int hour;
int minute;
int second;
};

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// time1.cpp
#include time1.h
#include <iostream.h>
..
void Time::setTime( int h, int m, int s ){
hour = ( h >= 0 && h < 24 ) ? h : 0;
minute = ( m >= 0 && m < 60 ) ? m : 0;
second = ( s >= 0 && s < 60 ) ? s : 0;
}
void Time::printMilitary(){
cout << ( hour < 10 ? "0" : "" ) << hour << ":"
<< ( minute < 10 ? "0" : "" ) << minute;
}
void Time::printStandard(){
cout << ( ( hour == 0 || hour == 12 ) ? 12 : hour % 12 )
<< ":" << ( minute < 10 ? "0" : "" ) << minute
<< ":" << ( second < 10 ? "0" : "" ) << second
<< ( hour < 12 ? " AM" : " PM" );
}
.
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Constructor Functions

A constructor function is a special function with the same

name as its class. This function is called automatically when an
object from a class is instantiated.
You define and declare constructor functions the same way
you define other functions
Example:

class Payroll{
public:
Payroll( ){ // constructor function
dFedTax = 0.28;
dStateTax = 0.05;
};
private:
double dFedTax;
double dStateTax;
}
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You also include just a function prototype in the interface file

for the constructor function and then create the function
definition in the implementation file.
Payroll::Payroll( ){ // constructor function
dFedTax = 0.28;
dStateTax = 0.05;
};

Constructor functions do not return values.

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Example 7.3.3
#include <iostream.h>
#include <iomanip.h>
// class declaration section
class Date
{
private:
int month;
int day;
int year;
public:
Date(int = 7, int = 4, int = 2001);
// constructor with default values
};

// implementation section
Date::Date(int mm, int dd, int yyyy)
//constructor
{
month = mm;
day = dd;
year = yyyy;
cout << "Created a new data object
with data values "
<< month << ", " << day << ", "
<< year << endl;
}

Programming Fundamentals

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int main()
{
Date a;
// declare an object without parameters
Date b;
// declare an object without parameters
Date c(4,1,2002); // declare an object with parameters
return 0;
}
The output of the above program:
Created a new data object with data values 7, 4, 2001
Created a new data object with data values 7, 4, 2001
Created a new data object with data values 4,1, 2001

Default constructor refers to any constructor that does not

require any parameters when it is called.

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DYNAMIC MEMORY ALLOCATION WITH

OPERATORS new AND delete

The new and delete operators provides a nice means of

performing dynamic memory allocation (for any built-in or userdefined type).
TypeName *typeNamPtr;
typeNamePtr = new TypeName;

The new operator automatically creates an object of the proper

size, calls the constructor for the object and returns a pointer
of the correct type.

To destroy the object and free the space for this object you
must use the delete operator:
delete typeNamePtr;

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For built-in data types, we also can use the new and delete
operators.

Example 1:

int *pPointer;
pPointer = new int;
Example 2:

delete pPointer;
Example 3: A 10-element integer array can be created and
assigned to arrayPtr as follows:
int *arrayPtr = new int[10];
This array is deleted with the statement

delete [] arrayPtr;
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Stack versus heap

A stack is a region of memory where applications can store

data such as local variables, function calls, and parameters.

The programmers have no control over the stack. C++

automatically handles placing and removing data to and from
stack.

The heap or free store, is an area of memory that is available to

application for storing data whose existence and size are not
known until run-time.

Note: When we use new operator, we can allocate a piece of

memory on the heap and when we use delete operator, we can
deallocate (free) a piece of memory on the heap.

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Example 7.4.1
#include<iostream.h>
void main( )
{
double* pPrimeInterest = new double;
*pPrimeInterest = 0.065;
cout << The value of pPrimeInterest is:
<< *pPrimeInterest << endl;
cout << The memory address of pPimeInterest is:
<< &pPrimeInterest << endl;
delete pPrimeInterest;
*pPimeInterest = 0.070;
cout << The value of pPrimeInterest is:
<< *pPrimeInterest << endl;
cout << The memory address of pPrimeInterest is:
<< &pPrimeInterest << endl;
}
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The output of the above program:

The value of pPrimeInterest is: 0.065

The memory address of pPrimeInterest is: 0x0066FD74
The value of pPrimeInterest is: 0.070
The memory address of pPrimeInterest is: 0x0066FD74.

Note: You can see that after the delete statement

executes, the pPimeInterest pointer still point to the
same memory address!!!

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Example 7.4.2
In the following program, we can create some objects of the
class Stocks on the stack or on the heap and then manipulate
them.
#include<iostream.h>
class Stocks{
public:
int iNumShares;
double dPurchasePricePerShare;
double dCurrentPricePerShare;
};
double totalValue(Stocks* pCurStock){
double dTotalValue;
dTotalValue = pCurStock->dCurrentPricePerShar*
pCurStock->iNumShares;
return dTotalValue;
}

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void main( ){
//allocated on the stack with a pointer to the stack object
Stocks stockPick;
Stocks* pStackStock = &stockPick;
pStackStock->iNumShares = 500;
pStackStock-> dPurchasePricePerShare = 10.785;
pStackStock-> dCurrentPricePerShare = 6.5;
cout << totalValue(pStackStock) << endl;
//allocated on the heap
Stocks* pHeapStock = new Stocks;
pHeapStock->iNumShares = 200;
pHeapStock-> dPurchasePricePerShare = 32.5;
pHeapStock-> dCurrentPricePerShare = 48.25;
cout << totalValue(pHeapStock) << endl;
}
The output of the above program:
3250
9650
Programming Fundamentals

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Note

When declaring and using pointers and references to

class objects, follow the same rules as you would
when declaring and using pointers and references to
structures.
You can use the indirect member selection operator
(->) to access class members through a pointer to an
object either on stack or on the heap.
As we will see, using new and delete offers other
benefits as well. In particular, new invokes the
constructor and delete invokes the classdestructor.
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POINTERS AS CLASS MEMBERS

A class can contain any C++ data type. Thus, the inclusion of a
pointer variable in a class should not seem surprising.

Example 7.5.1
#include <iostream.h>
#include <string.h>
// class declaration
class Book
{
private:
char *title; // a pointer to a book title
public:
Book(char * = NULL); // constructor with a default value
void showtitle();
// display the title
};
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// class implementation
Book::Book(char *strng)
{
title = new char[strlen(strng)+1]; // allocate memory
strcpy(title,strng);
// store the string
}
void Book::showtitle()
{
cout << title << endl;
return;
}
int main()
{
Book book1("DOS Primer"); // create 1st title
Book book2("A Brief History of Western Civilization");
book1.showtitle(); // display book1's title
book2.showtitle(); // display book2's title
return 0;
The output of the above program:
}
DOS Primer
A Brief History of Western Civilization
Programming Fundamentals

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