ECE 151 – Introduction to

Programming
 Chapter 13:

Introduction to Classes
Procedural and Object-Oriented
Programming

● Procedural programming focuses on the process/actions that occur in a

program

● Object-Oriented programming is based on the data and the functions that

operate on it. Objects are instances of ADTs that represent the data and its
functions
Limitations of Procedural Programming

● If the data structures change, many functions must also be changed

● Programs that are based on complex function hierarchies are:

○ difficult to understand and maintain
○ difficult to modify and extend
○ easy to break
Object-Oriented Programming
Terminology

● class: like a struct (allows bundling of related variables), but variables

and functions in the class can have different properties than in a struct

● object: an instance of a class, in the same way that a variable can be an

instance of a struct
Classes and Objects

● A Class is like a blueprint and objects are like houses built from the
blueprint
Object-Oriented Programming
Terminology
● attributes: members of a class

● methods or behaviors: member functions of a class

More on Objects

● data hiding: restricting access to certain members of an

object

● public interface: members of an object that are

available outside of the object. This allows the object
to provide access to some data and functions without
sharing its internal details and design, and provides
some protection from data corruption
Introduction to Classes

● Objects are created from a class

● Format:

class ClassName

declaration;

declaration;

};
Class Example
Access Specifiers

● Used to control access to members of the class

● public: can be accessed by functions outside of the

class

● private: can only be called by or accessed by

functions that are members of the class
Class Example

Private Members

Public Members
More on Access Specifiers

● Can be listed in any order in a class

● Can appear multiple times in a class

● If not specified, the default is private

Using const With Member Functions

● const appearing after the parentheses in a member function declaration

specifies that the function will not change any data in the calling object.
Defining a Member Function

● When defining a member function:

○ Put prototype in class declaration

○ Define function using class name and scope resolution operator (::)

int Rectangle::setWidth(double w)

width = w;

}
Accessors and Mutators

● Mutator: a member function that stores a value in a private member variable,

or changes its value in some way

● Accessor: function that retrieves a value from a private member variable.

Accessors do not change an object's data, so they should be marked const.
Defining an Instance of a Class

● An object is an instance of a class

● Defined like structure variables:
Rectangle r;
● Access members using dot operator:
r.setWidth(5.2);

cout << r.getWidth();

● Compiler error if attempt to access private member using dot operator
Program 13-1 (Continued)
Program 13-1 (Continued)
Program 13-1 (Continued)
Avoiding Stale Data

● Some data is the result of a calculation.

● In the Rectangle class the area of a rectangle is calculated.
○ length x width
● If we were to use an area variable here in the Rectangle
class, its value would be dependent on the length and the width.
● If we change length or width without updating area, then
area would become stale.
● To avoid stale data, it is best to calculate the value of that data
within a member function rather than store it in a variable.
Pointer to an Object

● Can define a pointer to an object:

Rectangle *rPtr;

● Can access public members via pointer:

rPtr = &otherRectangle;

rPtr->setLength(12.5);

cout << rPtr->getLenght() << endl;

Dynamically Allocating an Object

● We can also use a pointer to dynamically allocate an object.

Why Have Private Members?

● Making data members private provides data protection

● Data can be accessed only through public functions

● Public functions define the class’s public interface

Code outside the class must use the class's
public member functions to interact with the
object.
Separating Specification from
Implementation

○ Place class declaration in a header file that serves as the class specification file.
Name the file ClassName.h, for example, Rectangle.h
○ Place member function definitions in ClassName.cpp, for example,
Rectangle.cpp File should #include the class specification file
○ Programs that use the class must #include the class specification file, and be
compiled and linked with the member function definitions
Inline Member Functions

● Member functions can be defined

○ inline: in class declaration

○ after the class declaration

● Inline appropriate for short function bodies:

int getWidth() const

{ return width; }
Rectangle Class with Inline Member
Functions
1 // Specification file for the Rectangle class
2 // This version uses some inline member functions.
3 #ifndef RECTANGLE_H
4 #define RECTANGLE_H
5
6 class Rectangle
7 {
8 private:
9 double width;
10 double length;
11 public:
12 void setWidth(double);
13 void setLength(double);
14
15 double getWidth() const
16 { return width; }
17
18 double getLength() const
19 { return length; }
20
21 double getArea() const
22 { return width * length; }
23 };
24 #endif
Tradeoffs – Inline vs. Regular Member
Functions
● Regular functions – when called, compiler stores return address of call,
allocates memory for local variables, etc.

● Code for an inline function is copied into program in place of call – larger
executable program, but no function call overhead, hence faster execution
Constructors

● Member function that is automatically called when

an object is created

● Purpose is to construct an object

● Constructor function name is class name

● Has no return type

Continues...
Contents of Rectangle.ccp Version3
(continued)
Default Constructors

● A default constructor is a constructor that takes no arguments.

● If you write a class with no constructor at all, C++ will write a

default constructor for you, one that does nothing.

● A simple instantiation of a class (with no arguments) calls the

default constructor:
Rectangle r;
Passing Arguments to Constructors

● To create a constructor that takes arguments:

○ indicate parameters in prototype:

Rectangle(double, double);

○ Use parameters in the definition:

Rectangle::Rectangle(double w, double
len)
{
width = w;
length = len;
}
Passing Arguments to Constructors

● You can pass arguments to the constructor when

you create an object:

Rectangle r(10, 5);

More About Default Constructors

● If all of a constructor's parameters have default

arguments, then it is a default constructor. For
example:

Rectangle(double = 0, double = 0);

● Creating an object and passing no arguments will

cause this constructor to execute:

Rectangle r;
Classes with No Default Constructor

● When all of a class's constructors require arguments, then the class has NO
default constructor.

● When this is the case, you must pass the required arguments to the
constructor when creating an object.
Destructors

● Member function automatically called when an object

is destroyed
● Destructor name is ~classname, e.g., ~Rectangle
● Has no return type; takes no arguments
● Only one destructor per class, i.e., it cannot be
overloaded
● If constructor allocates dynamic memory, destructor
should release it
Contents of InventoryItem.h
Version1 (Continued)
Constructors, Destructors, and
Dynamically Allocated Objects

● When an object is dynamically allocated with the

new operator, its constructor executes:

Rectangle *r = new Rectangle(10, 20);

● When the object is destroyed, its destructor executes:

delete r;
Overloading Constructors

● A class can have more than one constructor

● Overloaded constructors in a class must have different

parameter lists:
Rectangle();
Rectangle(double);
Rectangle(double, double);
Continues...
Only One Default Constructor
and One Destructor

● Do not provide more than one default constructor for

a class: one that takes no arguments and one that has
default arguments for all parameters
Square();
Square(int = 0); // will not compile

● Since a destructor takes no arguments, there can only

be one destructor for a class
Member Function Overloading

● Non-constructor member functions can also be overloaded:

void setCost(double);

void setCost(char *);

● Must have unique parameter lists as for constructors

Using Private Member Functions

● A private member function can only be called by

another member function

● It is used for internal processing by the class, not for

use outside of the class

● See the createDescription function in

ContactInfo.h (Version 2)
Arrays of Objects

● Objects can be the elements of an array:

InventoryItem inventory[40];

● Default constructor for object is used when array is defined

Arrays of Objects

● Must use initializer list to invoke constructor that takes arguments:

InventoryItem inventory[3] =
{ "Hammer", "Wrench", "Pliers" };
Arrays of Objects

● If the constructor requires more than one argument, the initializer must
take the form of a function call:
Arrays of Objects

● It isn't necessary to call the same constructor for each object in an array:
Accessing Objects in an Array

● Objects in an array are referenced using subscripts

● Member functions are referenced using dot

notation:

inventory[2].setUnits(30);
cout << inventory[2].getUnits();
Program 13-3 (Continued)
 13.15
The Unified Modeling Language

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Unified Modeling Language

● UML stands for Unified Modeling Language.

● The UML provides a set of standard diagrams for graphically depicting

object-oriented systems
UML Class Diagram

● A UML diagram for a class has three main sections.

Example: A Rectangle Class

class Rectangle
{
private:
double width;
double length;
public:
bool setWidth(double);
bool setLength(double);
double getWidth() const;
double getLength() const;
double getArea() const;
};
UML Access Specification Notation

● In UML you indicate a private member with a minus (-) and a public
member with a plus(+).

These member variables are private.

These member functions are public.

UML Data Type Notation

● To indicate the data type of a member variable,

place a colon followed by the name of the data type
after the name of the variable.

- width : double
- length : double
UML Parameter Type Notation

● To indicate the data type of a function’s parameter variable, place a colon

followed by the name of the data type after the name of the variable.

+ setWidth(w : double)
UML Function Return Type Notation

● To indicate the data type of a function’s return value, place a colon

followed by the name of the data type after the function’s parameter list.

+ setWidth(w : double) : void

The Rectangle Class
Showing Constructors and Destructors

No return type listed for

constructors or destructors

Constructors

Destructor
Thank You