Basic Tools in C++

Abstract

C++ not only corrects most of the deficiencies found in C, it also introduces many completely new features that were designed for the language to provide data abstraction and object-oriented programming. Here are some of the prominent new features:

• Classes, the basic language construct that consists of data structure and operations applicable to the class.

• Member variables, which describe the attributes of the class.

• Member functions, which define the permissible operations of the class.

• Operator overloading, which gives additional meaning to operators so that they can be used with user-defined data types.

• Function overloading, which is similar to operator overloading. It allows the same function to have several definitions whereby reducing the need for unusual function names, making code easier to read.

• Programmer-controlled automatic type conversion, which allows us to blend user-defined types with the fundamental data types provided by C++.

• Derived classes, also known as subclasses, inherit member variables and member functions from their base classes (also known as superclasses). They can be differentiated from their base classes by adding new member variables, member functions or overriding existing functions.

• Virtual functions, which allow a derived class to redefine member functions inherited from a base class. Through dynamic binding, the run-time system will choose an appropriate function for the particular class.