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C++ Functions
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A function is a group of statements that together perform a task. Every C++

program has at least one function, which is main(), and all the most trivial
programs can define additional functions.

You can divide up your code into separate functions. How you divide up your code
among different functions is up to you, but logically the division usually is so each
function performs a specific task.

A function declaration tells the compiler about a function's name, return type, and
parameters. A function definition provides the actual body of the function.

The C++ standard library provides numerous built-in functions that your program
can call. For example, function strcat() to concatenate two strings, function
memcpy() to copy one memory location to another location and many more
functions.

A function is knows as with various names like a method or a sub-routine or a

procedure etc.

Defining a Function
The general form of a C++ function definition is as follows:

return_type function_name( parameter list ) {

body of the function
}

A C++ function definition consists of a function header and a function body. Here
are all the parts of a function:

Return Type: A function may return a value. The return_type is the data
type of the value the function returns. Some functions perform the desired
operations without returning a value. In this case, the return_type is the
keyword void.
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Function Name: This is the actual name of the function. The function name
and the parameter list together constitute the function signature.

Parameters: A parameter is like a placeholder. When a function is invoked,

you pass a value to the parameter. This value is referred to as actual
parameter or argument. The parameter list refers to the type, order, and
number of the parameters of a function. Parameters are optional; that is, a
function may contain no parameters.

Function Body: The function body contains a collection of statements that

define what the function does.

Example
Following is the source code for a function called max(). This function takes two
parameters num1 and num2 and returns the maximum between the two:

// function returning the max between two numbers

int max(int num1, int num2) {

// local variable declaration
int result;

if (num1 > num2)

result = num1;
else
result = num2;

return result;
}

Function Declarations
A function declaration tells the compiler about a function name and how to call the
function. The actual body of the function can be defined separately.

A function declaration has the following parts:

return_type function_name( parameter list );

For the above defined function max(), following is the function declaration:

int max(int num1, int num2);

Parameter names are not importan in function declaration only their type is
required, so following is also valid declaration:

int max(int, int);

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Function declaration is required when you define a function in one source file and
you call that function in another file. In such case, you should declare the function at
the top of the file calling the function.

Calling a Function
While creating a C++ function, you give a definition of what the function has to do.
To use a function, you will have to call or invoke that function.

When a program calls a function, program control is transferred to the called

function. A called function performs defined task and when its return statement is
executed or when its function-ending closing brace is reached, it returns program
control back to the main program.

To call a function, you simply need to pass the required parameters along with
function name, and if function returns a value, then you can store returned value.
For example:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

// function declaration
int max(int num1, int num2);

int main () {
// local variable declaration:
int a = 100;
int b = 200;
int ret;

// calling a function to get max value.

ret = max(a, b);

cout << "Max value is : " << ret << endl;

return 0;
}

// function returning the max between two numbers

int max(int num1, int num2) {
// local variable declaration
int result;

if (num1 > num2)

result = num1;
else
result = num2;

return result;
}

I kept max() function along with main() function and compiled the source code.

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While running final executable, it would produce the following result:

Max value is : 200

Function Arguments
If a function is to use arguments, it must declare variables that accept the values of
the arguments. These variables are called the formal parameters of the function.

The formal parameters behave like other local variables inside the function and are
created upon entry into the function and destroyed upon exit.

While calling a function, there are two ways that arguments can be passed to a
function:

Call Type Description

Call by value This method copies the actual value of an argument into
the formal parameter of the function. In this case, changes
made to the parameter inside the function have no effect
on the argument.

Call by pointer This method copies the address of an argument into the
formal parameter. Inside the function, the address is used
to access the actual argument used in the call. This means
that changes made to the parameter affect the argument.

Call by reference This method copies the reference of an argument into the
formal parameter. Inside the function, the reference is used
to access the actual argument used in the call. This means
that changes made to the parameter affect the argument.

By default, C++ uses call by value to pass arguments. In general, this means that
code within a function cannot alter the arguments used to call the function and
above mentioned example while calling max() function used the same method.

Default Values for Parameters

When you define a function, you can specify a default value for each of the last
parameters. This value will be used if the corresponding argument is left blank when
calling to the function.

This is done by using the assignment operator and assigning values for the
arguments in the function definition. If a value for that parameter is not passed
when the function is called, the default given value is used, but if a value is specified,

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this default value is ignored and the passed value is used instead. Consider the
following example:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int sum(int a, int b=20) {

int result;

result = a + b;

return (result);
}

int main () {
// local variable declaration:
int a = 100;
int b = 200;
int result;

// calling a function to add the values.

result = sum(a, b);
cout << "Total value is :" << result << endl;

// calling a function again as follows.

result = sum(a);
cout << "Total value is :" << result << endl;

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Total value is :300

Total value is :120

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