Language Concepts
Language Concepts
C++ is a powerful and important programming language that encompasses colourful language concepts. Then there are some of the crucial language concepts in C++:
- Object-Oriented Programming( OOP): C++ is a multi-paradigm language, but it’s widely known for its support for object-oriented programming. It allows you to define classes and objects, encapsulate data and behaviour, and implement features such as inheritance, polymorphism, and encapsulation.
- Classes and Objects: C++ allows you to define user-defined data types called classes, which serve as blueprints for creating objects. Objects are instances of classes and represent real-world entities with their data and functions.
- Inheritance: C++ supports class inheritance, where a class (subclass or derived class) can inherit properties and behaviour from another class (superclass or base class). This promotes code reuse and the hierarchical organisation of classes.
- Polymorphism: C++ supports both static (compile-time) and dynamic (runtime) polymorphism. Stationary polymorphism is achieved through function overloading and templates, while dynamic polymorphism is achieved using virtual functions and inheritance.
- Encapsulation: C++ allows you to encapsulate the data and implementation details of a class, providing control over access to class members using access specifiers( public, private, or protected).
- Abstraction: C++ enables abstraction by allowing you to create abstract classes and pure virtual functions, which define interfaces without providing an implementation. Subclasses are also required to implement these pure virtual functions.
- Templates: C++ supports general programming through templates. Templates allow you to write functions and classes that work with different data types, and the factual types are determined at compile time.
template <typename T>
T max(T a, T b) {
return (a > b) ? a : b;
}
- STL (Standard Template Library): C++ provides a rich standard library that includes colourful data structures (e.g., vectors, lists, maps) and algorithms (e.g., sorting, searching). These are part of STL, which is a collection of template classes and functions.
#include <vector>
#include <algorithm>
std::vector<int> nums = {3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6};
std::sort(nums.begin(), nums.end());
- Exception Handling: C++ offers exception handling to deal with errors and exceptional situations gracefully. It uses try, catch, and throw keywords to handle exceptions.
illustration:
try {
int result = a / b;
} catch (const exception &e) {
cout << "Caught an exception: " << e.what();
}
- RAII( Resource Acquisition Is Initialization): C++ leverages the RAII principle, where resource management is tied to object lifetimes. It ensures that resources (e.g., memory, file handles) are acquired during object creation and released during object destruction.
class FileHandler {
private:
FILE* file;
public:
FileHandler(const char* filename) {
file = fopen(filename, "r");
}
~FileHandler() {
if (file) {
fclose(file);
}
}
};
- Smart Pointers: C++ provides smart pointers (e.g., unique_ptr, shared_ptr, and weak_ptr) as part of the standard library to manage the dynamic allocation and deallocation of objects, helping to prevent memory leaks.
Illustration:
int num = 10;
int* p = #
- Lambda Expressions: C++ 11 introduced lambda expressions, which allow you to define anonymous functions inline, providing a terse way to write function objects( functors) and work with algorithms and functional programming concepts.
auto add = [](int a, int b) { return a + b; };
int result = add(3, 5);
- Standard Input / Output: C++ provides the ‘iostream’ library to handle standard input and output operations. It allows you to use ‘cin’ for input and cout for output.
- Move Semantics and Rvalue References: Move semantics allow you to efficiently transfer resources (e.g., memory) from one object to another. Rvalue references(‘&&’) enable you to differentiate between temporary and non-temporary objects
std::string str = "Hello";
std::string newStr = std::move(str);
- Concurrency and Multithreading: C++ supports multithreading through the ‘<thread>’ library. You can create and manage threads for concurrent execution.
#include <iostream>
#include <thread>
void printMessage() {
std::cout << "Hello from thread!" << std::endl;
}
int main() {
std::thread t(printMessage);
t.join();
return 0;
}
- Operator Overloading: You can define custom behaviours for operators when working with user-defined types. This allows you to use operators with your own classes.
class Complex {
public:
double real;
double imag;
Complex operator+(const Complex& other) {
Complex result;
result.real = real + other.real;
result.imag = imag + other.imag;
return result;
}
};
These language concepts make C++ an important and powerful programming language, suitable for a wide range of applications, from systems programming to high-level application development.
