ECE 151 – Introduction to

Programming
2
Modular Programming

● Modular programming: breaking a program up into

smaller, manageable functions or modules

● Function: a collection of statements to perform a task

● Motivation for modular programming:
○ Improves maintainability of programs
○ Simplifies the process of writing programs
Defining and Calling Functions

● Function call: statement causes a function to execute

● Function definition: statements that make up a function

Function Definition

● Definition includes:
○ return type: data type of the value that function returns to the
part of the program that called it

○ name: name of the function. Function names follow same

rules as variables

○ parameter list: variables containing values passed to the

function

○ body: statements that perform the function’s task, enclosed

in {}
Function Definition

Note: The line that reads int main()is the

function header.
Function Return Type

● If a function returns a value, the type of the value must

be indicated:
int main()
● If a function does not return a value, its return type is
void:
void printHeading()
{
cout << "Monthly Sales\n";
}
Calling a Function

● To call a function, use the function name followed by

() and ;
printHeading();

● When called, program executes the body of the called

function

● After the function terminates, execution resumes in the

calling function at point of call.
Functions in Program 6-1
Flow of Control in Program 6-1
Calling Functions

● main can call any number of functions

● Functions can call other functions
● Compiler must know the following about a function before it is called:
○ name
○ return type
○ number of parameters
○ data type of each parameter
Function Prototypes

● Ways to notify the compiler about a function before a

call to the function:

○ Place function definition before calling function’s definition

○ Use a function prototype (function declaration) – like the

function definition without the body
■ Header: void printHeading()
■ Prototype: void printHeading();
(Program Continues)
Program 6-5 (Continued)
Prototype Notes

● Place prototypes near top of program

● Program must include either prototype or full

function definition before any call to the function –
compiler error otherwise

● When using prototypes, can place function

definitions in any order in source file
Sending Data into a Function

● Can pass values into a function at time of call:

c = pow(a, b);

● Values passed to function are arguments

● Variables in a function that hold the values passed

as arguments are parameters
A Function with a Parameter Variable

void displayValue(int num)

{
cout << "The value is " << num << endl;
}

The integer variable num is a parameter.

It accepts any integer value passed to the function.
(Program Continues)
The function call in line 11 passes the value 5
as an argument to the function.
Other Parameter Terminology

● A parameter can also be called a formal parameter or a formal argument

● An argument can also be called an actual parameter or an actual argument
Parameters, Prototypes, and Function
Headers

● For each function argument,

○ the prototype must include the data type of each parameter inside its
parentheses
○ the header must include a declaration for each parameter in its ()
void evenOrOdd(int); //prototype
void evenOrOdd(int num) //header
evenOrOdd(val); //call
Function Call Notes

● Value of argument is copied into parameter when the

function is called
● A parameter’s scope is the function which uses it
● Function can have multiple parameters
● There must be a data type listed in the prototype ()
and an argument declaration in the function header ()
for each parameter
● Arguments will be promoted/demoted as necessary to
match parameters
Passing Multiple Arguments

When calling a function and passing multiple arguments:

○ the number of arguments in the call must match the prototype and definition

○ the first argument will be used to initialize the first parameter, the second
argument to initialize the second parameter, etc.
(Program Continues)
Program 6-8 (Continued)
The function call in line 18 passes value1,
value2, and value3 as a arguments to the
function.
Passing Data by Value

● Pass by value: when an argument is passed to a function, its value is copied

into the parameter.

● Changes to the parameter in the function do not affect the value of the
argument
Passing Information to Parameters by
Value
● Example: int val=5;

evenOrOdd(val);

val num
5 5
argument in parameter in
calling function evenOrOdd function

● evenOrOdd can change variable num, but it will have no effect on variable
val
Using Functions in
Menu-Driven Programs
● Functions can be used

○ to implement user choices from menu

○ to implement general-purpose tasks:

■ Higher-level functions can call general-purpose

functions, minimizing the total number of functions
and speeding program development time
● See Program 6-10 in the book
The return Statement

● Used to end execution of a function

● Can be placed anywhere in a function
○ Statements that follow the return statement will not be executed
● Can be used to prevent abnormal termination of program
● In a void function without a return statement, the function ends at its last
}
(Program Continues)
Program 6-11(Continued)
Returning a Value From a Function

● A function can return a value back to the statement that called the
function.
● You've already seen the pow function, which returns a value:

double x;
x = pow(2.0, 10.0);
Returning a Value From a Function

● In a value-returning function, the return

statement can be used to return a value from
function to the point of call. Example:

int sum(int num1, int num2)

{
double result;
result = num1 + num2;
return result;
}
A Value-Returning Function

Return Type

int sum(int num1, int num2)

{
double result;
result = num1 + num2;
return result;
}

Value Being Returned

A Value-Returning Function

int sum(int num1, int num2)

{
return num1 + num2;
}

Functions can return the values of

expressions, such as num1 + num2
(Program Continues)
Program 6-12 (Continued)
The statement in line 17 calls the sum function,
passing value1 and value2 as arguments.
The return value is assigned to the total variable.
Another Example, from
Program 6-13
Returning a Value From a Function

● The prototype and the definition must indicate the data type of return
value (not void)

● Calling function should use return value:

○ assign it to a variable
○ send it to cout

○ use it in an expression
Returning a Boolean Value

● Function can return true or false

● Declare return type in function prototype and heading as bool
● Function body must contain return statement(s) that return true or
false
● Calling function can use return value in a relational expression
(Program Continues)
Local and Global Variables

● Variables defined inside a function are local to that

function. They are hidden from the statements in
other functions, which normally cannot access
them.
● Because the variables defined in a function are
hidden, other functions may have separate, distinct
variables with the same name.
 When the program is executing in main, the num variable defined in main is
visible. When anotherFunction is called, however, only variables defined inside it are
visible, so the num variable in main is hidden.
Local Variable Lifetime

● A function’s local variables exist only while the

function is executing. This is known as the lifetime
of a local variable.

● When the function begins, its local variables and its

parameter variables are created in memory, and
when the function ends, the local variables and
parameter variables are destroyed.

● This means that any value stored in a local variable

is lost between calls to the function in which the
variable is declared.
Global Variables and Global
Constants
● A global variable is any variable defined outside all the
functions in a program.

● The scope of a global variable is the portion of the

program from the variable definition to the end.

● This means that a global variable can be accessed by

all functions that are defined after the global variable is
defined.
Global Variables and Global
Constants
● You should avoid using global variables because they make programs
difficult to debug.

● Any global that you create should be global constants.

 Global constants defined for values
that do not change throughout the program’s
execution.
The constants are then used for those values throughout the program.
Initializing Local and Global Variables

● Local variables are not automatically initialized. They must be initialized

by programmer.

● Global variables (not constants) are automatically initialized to 0

(numeric) or NULL (character) when the variable is defined.
Static Local Variables

● Local variables only exist while the function is

executing. When the function terminates, the contents
of local variables are lost.

● static local variables retain their contents between

function calls.

● static local variables are defined and initialized

only the first time the function is executed. 0 is the
default initialization value.
(Program Continues)
In this program, each time showLocal is called, the localNum variable
is re-created and initialized with the value 5.
A Different Approach, Using a Static
Variable

(Program Continues)
statNum is automatically initialized to
0. Notice that it retains its value between
function calls.
If you do initialize a local static variable, the
initialization only happens once. See Program 6-23.
Default Arguments

A Default argument is an argument that is passed

automatically to a parameter if the argument is
missing on the function call.

● Must be a constant declared in prototype:

void evenOrOdd(int = 0);
● Can be declared in header if no prototype

● Multi-parameter functions may have default

arguments for some or all of them:
int getSum(int, int=0, int=0);
6-62
Default arguments specified in the prototype

(Program Continues)
Program 6-23 (Continued)
Default Arguments

● If not all parameters to a function have default values, the defaultless ones
are declared first in the parameter list:
int getSum(int, int=0, int=0);// OK
int getSum(int, int=0, int); // NO
● When an argument is omitted from a function call, all arguments after it must
also be omitted:
sum = getSum(num1, num2); // OK
sum = getSum(num1, , num3); // NO
Using Reference Variables as Parameters

● A mechanism that allows a function to work with the original argument

from the function call, not a copy of the argument
● Allows the function to modify values stored in the calling environment
● Provides a way for the function to ‘return’ more than one value
Passing by Reference

● A reference variable is an alias for another variable

● Defined with an ampersand (&)
void getDimensions(int&, int&);
● Changes to a reference variable are made to the variable it refers to
● Use reference variables to implement passing parameters by reference
The & here in the prototype indicates that the
parameter is a reference variable.

Here we are passing value by

reference.

(Program Continues)
Program 6-25 (Continued)
The & also appears here in the function header.
Reference Variable Notes

● Each reference parameter must contain &

● Space between type and & is unimportant
● Must use & in both prototype and header
● Argument passed to reference parameter must be a variable –
cannot be an expression or constant
● Use when appropriate – don’t use when argument should not
be changed by function, or if function needs to return only 1
value
Overloading Functions

● Overloaded functions have the same name but

different parameter lists
● Can be used to create functions that perform the
same task but take different parameter types or
different number of parameters
● Compiler will determine which version of
function to call by argument and parameter lists
Function Overloading Examples
Using these overloaded functions,
void getDimensions(int); // 1
void getDimensions(int, int); // 2
void getDimensions(int, double); // 3
void getDimensions(double, double);// 4
the compiler will use them as follows:
int length, width;
double base, height;
getDimensions(length); // 1
getDimensions(length, width); // 2
getDimensions(length, height); // 3
getDimensions(height, base); // 4
 The overloaded
functions have
different parameter
lists

Passing a double

(Program Continues)
Passing an int
Program 6-27 (Continued)
The exit() Function

● Terminates the execution of a program

● Can be called from any function
● Can pass an int value to operating system to indicate status of program
termination
● Usually used for abnormal termination of program
● Requires cstdlib header file
The exit() Function

● Example:
exit(0);

● The cstdlib header defines two constants that are commonly passed, to
indicate success or failure:
exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
Stubs and Drivers

● Useful for testing and debugging program and function logic and design
● Stub: A dummy function used in place of an actual function
○ Usually displays a message indicating it was called. May also display
parameters
● Driver: A function that tests another function by calling it
○ Various arguments are passed and return values are tested
Thank You