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Diffstat (limited to 'c++.html.markdown')
| -rw-r--r-- | c++.html.markdown | 339 |
1 files changed, 311 insertions, 28 deletions
diff --git a/c++.html.markdown b/c++.html.markdown index 67fa054c..d03092e5 100644 --- a/c++.html.markdown +++ b/c++.html.markdown @@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ filename: learncpp.cpp contributors: - ["Steven Basart", "http://github.com/xksteven"] - ["Matt Kline", "https://github.com/mrkline"] + - ["Geoff Liu", "http://geoffliu.me"] + - ["Connor Waters", "http://github.com/connorwaters"] lang: en --- @@ -30,10 +32,9 @@ one of the most widely-used programming languages. // C++ is _almost_ a superset of C and shares its basic syntax for // variable declarations, primitive types, and functions. -// However, C++ varies in some of the following ways: -// A main() function in C++ should return an int, -// though void main() is accepted by most compilers (gcc, clang, etc.) +// Just like in C, your program's entry point is a function called +// main with an integer return type. // This value serves as the program's exit status. // See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_status for more information. int main(int argc, char** argv) @@ -51,11 +52,13 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) return 0; } -// In C++, character literals are one byte. -sizeof('c') == 1 +// However, C++ varies in some of the following ways: + +// In C++, character literals are chars +sizeof('c') == sizeof(char) == 1 -// In C, character literals are the same size as ints. -sizeof('c') == sizeof(10) +// In C, character literals are ints +sizeof('c') == sizeof(int) // C++ has strict prototyping @@ -157,11 +160,12 @@ void foo() int main() { - // Assume everything is from the namespace "Second" - // unless otherwise specified. + // Includes all symbols from namespace Second into the current scope. Note + // that simply foo() no longer works, since it is now ambiguous whether + // we're calling the foo in namespace Second or the top level. using namespace Second; - foo(); // prints "This is Second::foo" + Second::foo(); // prints "This is Second::foo" First::Nested::foo(); // prints "This is First::Nested::foo" ::foo(); // prints "This is global foo" } @@ -241,12 +245,135 @@ cout << fooRef; // Prints "I am foo. Hi!" // Doesn't reassign "fooRef". This is the same as "foo = bar", and // foo == "I am bar" // after this line. +cout << &fooRef << endl; //Prints the address of foo fooRef = bar; +cout << &fooRef << endl; //Still prints the address of foo +cout << fooRef; // Prints "I am bar" + +//The address of fooRef remains the same, i.e. it is still referring to foo. + const string& barRef = bar; // Create a const reference to bar. // Like C, const values (and pointers and references) cannot be modified. barRef += ". Hi!"; // Error, const references cannot be modified. +// Sidetrack: Before we talk more about references, we must introduce a concept +// called a temporary object. Suppose we have the following code: +string tempObjectFun() { ... } +string retVal = tempObjectFun(); + +// What happens in the second line is actually: +// - a string object is returned from tempObjectFun +// - a new string is constructed with the returned object as argument to the +// constructor +// - the returned object is destroyed +// The returned object is called a temporary object. Temporary objects are +// created whenever a function returns an object, and they are destroyed at the +// end of the evaluation of the enclosing expression (Well, this is what the +// standard says, but compilers are allowed to change this behavior. Look up +// "return value optimization" if you're into this kind of details). So in this +// code: +foo(bar(tempObjectFun())) + +// assuming foo and bar exist, the object returned from tempObjectFun is +// passed to bar, and it is destroyed before foo is called. + +// Now back to references. The exception to the "at the end of the enclosing +// expression" rule is if a temporary object is bound to a const reference, in +// which case its life gets extended to the current scope: + +void constReferenceTempObjectFun() { + // constRef gets the temporary object, and it is valid until the end of this + // function. + const string& constRef = tempObjectFun(); + ... +} + +// Another kind of reference introduced in C++11 is specifically for temporary +// objects. You cannot have a variable of its type, but it takes precedence in +// overload resolution: + +void someFun(string& s) { ... } // Regular reference +void someFun(string&& s) { ... } // Reference to temporary object + +string foo; +someFun(foo); // Calls the version with regular reference +someFun(tempObjectFun()); // Calls the version with temporary reference + +// For example, you will see these two versions of constructors for +// std::basic_string: +basic_string(const basic_string& other); +basic_string(basic_string&& other); + +// Idea being if we are constructing a new string from a temporary object (which +// is going to be destroyed soon anyway), we can have a more efficient +// constructor that "salvages" parts of that temporary string. You will see this +// concept referred to as "move semantics". + +///////////////////// +// Enums +///////////////////// + +// Enums are a way to assign a value to a constant most commonly used for +// easier visualization and reading of code +enum ECarTypes +{ + Sedan, + Hatchback, + SUV, + Wagon +}; + +ECarTypes GetPreferredCarType() +{ + return ECarTypes::Hatchback; +} + +// As of C++11 there is an easy way to assign a type to the enum which can be +// useful in serialization of data and converting enums back-and-forth between +// the desired type and their respective constants +enum ECarTypes : uint8_t +{ + Sedan, // 0 + Hatchback, // 1 + SUV = 254, // 254 + Hybrid // 255 +}; + +void WriteByteToFile(uint8_t InputValue) +{ + // Serialize the InputValue to a file +} + +void WritePreferredCarTypeToFile(ECarTypes InputCarType) +{ + // The enum is implicitly converted to a uint8_t due to its declared enum type + WriteByteToFile(InputCarType); +} + +// On the other hand you may not want enums to be accidentally cast to an integer +// type or to other enums so it is instead possible to create an enum class which +// won't be implicitly converted +enum class ECarTypes : uint8_t +{ + Sedan, // 0 + Hatchback, // 1 + SUV = 254, // 254 + Hybrid // 255 +}; + +void WriteByteToFile(uint8_t InputValue) +{ + // Serialize the InputValue to a file +} + +void WritePreferredCarTypeToFile(ECarTypes InputCarType) +{ + // Won't compile even though ECarTypes is a uint8_t due to the enum + // being declared as an "enum class"! + WriteByteToFile(InputCarType); +} + ////////////////////////////////////////// // Classes and object-oriented programming ////////////////////////////////////////// @@ -287,19 +414,22 @@ public: // Functions can also be defined inside the class body. // Functions defined as such are automatically inlined. - void bark() const { std::cout << name << " barks!\n" } + void bark() const { std::cout << name << " barks!\n"; } // Along with constructors, C++ provides destructors. // These are called when an object is deleted or falls out of scope. // This enables powerful paradigms such as RAII // (see below) - // Destructors must be virtual to allow classes to be derived from this one. + // The destructor should be virtual if a class is to be derived from; + // if it is not virtual, then the derived class' destructor will + // not be called if the object is destroyed through a base-class reference + // or pointer. virtual ~Dog(); }; // A semicolon must follow the class definition. // Class member functions are usually implemented in .cpp files. -void Dog::Dog() +Dog::Dog() { std::cout << "A dog has been constructed\n"; } @@ -322,7 +452,7 @@ void Dog::print() const std::cout << "Dog is " << name << " and weighs " << weight << "kg\n"; } -void Dog::~Dog() +Dog::~Dog() { cout << "Goodbye " << name << "\n"; } @@ -331,16 +461,18 @@ int main() { Dog myDog; // prints "A dog has been constructed" myDog.setName("Barkley"); myDog.setWeight(10); - myDog.printDog(); // prints "Dog is Barkley and weighs 10 kg" + myDog.print(); // prints "Dog is Barkley and weighs 10 kg" return 0; } // prints "Goodbye Barkley" // Inheritance: // This class inherits everything public and protected from the Dog class +// as well as private but may not directly access private members/methods +// without a public or protected method for doing so class OwnedDog : public Dog { - void setOwner(const std::string& dogsOwner) + void setOwner(const std::string& dogsOwner); // Override the behavior of the print function for all OwnedDogs. See // http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymorphism_(computer_science)#Subtyping @@ -424,7 +556,7 @@ int main () { Point up (0,1); Point right (1,0); // This calls the Point + operator - // Point up calls the + (function) with right as its paramater + // Point up calls the + (function) with right as its parameter Point result = up + right; // Prints "Result is upright (1,1)" cout << "Result is upright (" << result.x << ',' << result.y << ")\n"; @@ -432,6 +564,86 @@ int main () { } ///////////////////// +// Templates +///////////////////// + +// Templates in C++ are mostly used for generic programming, though they are +// much more powerful than generic constructs in other languages. They also +// support explicit and partial specialization and functional-style type +// classes; in fact, they are a Turing-complete functional language embedded +// in C++! + +// We start with the kind of generic programming you might be familiar with. To +// define a class or function that takes a type parameter: +template<class T> +class Box { +public: + // In this class, T can be used as any other type. + void insert(const T&) { ... } +}; + +// During compilation, the compiler actually generates copies of each template +// with parameters substituted, so the full definition of the class must be +// present at each invocation. This is why you will see template classes defined +// entirely in header files. + +// To instantiate a template class on the stack: +Box<int> intBox; + +// and you can use it as you would expect: +intBox.insert(123); + +// You can, of course, nest templates: +Box<Box<int> > boxOfBox; +boxOfBox.insert(intBox); + +// Until C++11, you had to place a space between the two '>'s, otherwise '>>' +// would be parsed as the right shift operator. + +// You will sometimes see +// template<typename T> +// instead. The 'class' keyword and 'typename' keywords are _mostly_ +// interchangeable in this case. For the full explanation, see +// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typename +// (yes, that keyword has its own Wikipedia page). + +// Similarly, a template function: +template<class T> +void barkThreeTimes(const T& input) +{ + input.bark(); + input.bark(); + input.bark(); +} + +// Notice that nothing is specified about the type parameters here. The compiler +// will generate and then type-check every invocation of the template, so the +// above function works with any type 'T' that has a const 'bark' method! + +Dog fluffy; +fluffy.setName("Fluffy") +barkThreeTimes(fluffy); // Prints "Fluffy barks" three times. + +// Template parameters don't have to be classes: +template<int Y> +void printMessage() { + cout << "Learn C++ in " << Y << " minutes!" << endl; +} + +// And you can explicitly specialize templates for more efficient code. Of +// course, most real-world uses of specialization are not as trivial as this. +// Note that you still need to declare the function (or class) as a template +// even if you explicitly specified all parameters. +template<> +void printMessage<10>() { + cout << "Learn C++ faster in only 10 minutes!" << endl; +} + +printMessage<20>(); // Prints "Learn C++ in 20 minutes!" +printMessage<10>(); // Prints "Learn C++ faster in only 10 minutes!" + + +///////////////////// // Exception Handling ///////////////////// @@ -439,19 +651,23 @@ int main () { // (see http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/error/exception) // but any type can be thrown an as exception #include <exception> +#include <stdexcept> // All exceptions thrown inside the _try_ block can be caught by subsequent // _catch_ handlers. try { // Do not allocate exceptions on the heap using _new_. - throw std::exception("A problem occurred"); + throw std::runtime_error("A problem occurred"); } + // Catch exceptions by const reference if they are objects catch (const std::exception& ex) { - std::cout << ex.what(); + std::cout << ex.what(); +} + // Catches any exception not caught by previous _catch_ blocks -} catch (...) +catch (...) { std::cout << "Unknown exception caught"; throw; // Re-throws the exception @@ -461,8 +677,8 @@ catch (const std::exception& ex) // RAII /////// -// RAII stands for Resource Allocation Is Initialization. -// It is often considered the most powerful paradigm in C++, +// RAII stands for "Resource Acquisition Is Initialization". +// It is often considered the most powerful paradigm in C++ // and is the simple concept that a constructor for an object // acquires that object's resources and the destructor releases them. @@ -483,9 +699,9 @@ void doSomethingWithAFile(const char* filename) // Unfortunately, things are quickly complicated by error handling. // Suppose fopen can fail, and that doSomethingWithTheFile and // doSomethingElseWithIt return error codes if they fail. -// (Exceptions are the preferred way of handling failure, -// but some programmers, especially those with a C background, -// disagree on the utility of exceptions). +// (Exceptions are the preferred way of handling failure, +// but some programmers, especially those with a C background, +// disagree on the utility of exceptions). // We now have to check each call for failure and close the file handle // if a problem occurred. bool doSomethingWithAFile(const char* filename) @@ -535,7 +751,7 @@ void doSomethingWithAFile(const char* filename) { FILE* fh = fopen(filename, "r"); // Open the file in read mode if (fh == nullptr) - throw std::exception("Could not open the file."); + throw std::runtime_error("Could not open the file."); try { doSomethingWithTheFile(fh); @@ -553,7 +769,7 @@ void doSomethingWithAFile(const char* filename) // Compare this to the use of C++'s file stream class (fstream) // fstream uses its destructor to close the file. // Recall from above that destructors are automatically called -// whenver an object falls out of scope. +// whenever an object falls out of scope. void doSomethingWithAFile(const std::string& filename) { // ifstream is short for input file stream @@ -584,8 +800,75 @@ void doSomethingWithAFile(const std::string& filename) // vector (i.e. self-resizing array), hash maps, and so on // all automatically destroy their contents when they fall out of scope. // - Mutexes using lock_guard and unique_lock + + +///////////////////// +// Fun stuff +///////////////////// + +// Aspects of C++ that may be surprising to newcomers (and even some veterans). +// This section is, unfortunately, wildly incomplete; C++ is one of the easiest +// languages with which to shoot yourself in the foot. + +// You can override private methods! +class Foo { + virtual void bar(); +}; +class FooSub : public Foo { + virtual void bar(); // Overrides Foo::bar! +}; + + +// 0 == false == NULL (most of the time)! +bool* pt = new bool; +*pt = 0; // Sets the value points by 'pt' to false. +pt = 0; // Sets 'pt' to the null pointer. Both lines compile without warnings. + +// nullptr is supposed to fix some of that issue: +int* pt2 = new int; +*pt2 = nullptr; // Doesn't compile +pt2 = nullptr; // Sets pt2 to null. + +// There is an exception made for bools. +// This is to allow you to test for null pointers with if(!ptr), +// but as a consequence you can assign nullptr to a bool directly! +*pt = nullptr; // This still compiles, even though '*pt' is a bool! + + +// '=' != '=' != '='! +// Calls Foo::Foo(const Foo&) or some variant (see move semantics) copy +// constructor. +Foo f2; +Foo f1 = f2; + +// Calls Foo::Foo(const Foo&) or variant, but only copies the 'Foo' part of +// 'fooSub'. Any extra members of 'fooSub' are discarded. This sometimes +// horrifying behavior is called "object slicing." +FooSub fooSub; +Foo f1 = fooSub; + +// Calls Foo::operator=(Foo&) or variant. +Foo f1; +f1 = f2; + + +// How to truly clear a container: +class Foo { ... }; +vector<Foo> v; +for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) + v.push_back(Foo()); + +// Following line sets size of v to 0, but destructors don't get called +// and resources aren't released! +v.empty(); +v.push_back(Foo()); // New value is copied into the first Foo we inserted + +// Truly destroys all values in v. See section about temporary objects for +// explanation of why this works. +v.swap(vector<Foo>()); + ``` -Futher Reading: +Further Reading: An up-to-date language reference can be found at <http://cppreference.com/w/cpp> |