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

Function Overloading


We saw how C++ allows us to write a function that takes parameters either by value or by reference, using const, and organizes them in namespaces.

There is an additional powerful feature of C++ that allows us to give the same name to functions that perform the same conceptual operation on different types: function overloading.

Function overloading is the ability to declare several functions with the same name – that is, if the set of parameters they accept is different.

An example of this is the multiply function. We can imagine this function being defined for integers and floats, or even for vectors and matrices.

If the concept represented by the function is the same, we can provide several functions that accept different kinds of parameters.

When a function is invoked, the compiler looks at all the functions with that name, called the overload set, and picks the function that is the best match for the arguments provided.

The precise rule on how the function is selected is...