Book Image

C++ Fundamentals

By : Antonio Mallia, Francesco Zoffoli
Book Image

C++ Fundamentals

By: Antonio Mallia, Francesco Zoffoli

Overview of this book

C++ Fundamentals begins by introducing you to the C++ compilation model and syntax. You will then study data types, variable declaration, scope, and control flow statements. With the help of this book, you'll be able to compile fully working C++ code and understand how variables, references, and pointers can be used to manipulate the state of the program. Next, you will explore functions and classes — the features that C++ offers to organize a program — and use them to solve more complex problems. You will also understand common pitfalls and modern best practices, especially the ones that diverge from the C++98 guidelines. As you advance through the chapters, you'll study the advantages of generic programming and write your own templates to make generic algorithms that work with any type. This C++ book will guide you in fully exploiting standard containers and algorithms, understanding how to pick the appropriate one for each problem. By the end of this book, you will not only be able to write efficient code but also be equipped to improve the readability, performance, and maintainability of your programs.
Table of Contents (9 chapters)
C++ Fundamentals
Preface

Default Arguments


Another feature C++ provides to make life easier for the caller when it comes to calling functions are default arguments.

Default arguments are added to a function declaration. The syntax is to add an = sign and supply the value of the default argument after the identifier of the parameter of the function. An example of this would be:

int multiply(int multiplied, int multiplier = 1);

The caller of the function can call multiply either with 1 or 2 arguments:

multiply(10); // Returns 10
multiply(10, 2); // Returns 20

When an argument with a default value is omitted, the function uses the default value instead. This is extremely convenient if there are functions with sensible defaults that callers mostly do not want to modify, except in specific cases.

Imagine a function that returns the first word of a string:

char const * firstWord(char const * string, char separator = ' ').

Most of the time, a word is separated by a whitespace character, but a function can decide whether or not...