C++ What is OOP?

OOP stands for Object-Oriented Programming.

Procedural programming is about writing procedures or functions that

perform operations on the data, while object-oriented programming is about
creating objects that contain both data and functions.

Object-oriented programming has several advantages over procedural

programming:

 OOP is faster and easier to execute

 OOP provides a clear structure for the programs
 OOP helps to keep the C++ code DRY "Don't Repeat Yourself", and
makes the code easier to maintain, modify and debug
 OOP makes it possible to create full reusable applications with less
code and shorter development time

Tip: The "Don't Repeat Yourself" (DRY) principle is about reducing the
repetition of code. You should extract out the codes that are common for the
application, and place them at a single place and reuse them instead of
repeating it.

C++ What are Classes and Objects?

Classes and objects are the two main aspects of object-oriented
programming.

Look at the following illustration to see the difference between class and
objects:

objects
class
Apple
Fruit

Banana

Mango
So, a class is a template for objects, and an object is an instance of a class.

When the individual objects are created, they inherit all the variables and
functions from the class.

C++ Classes and Objects

C++ is an object-oriented programming language.

Everything in C++ is associated with classes and objects, along with its
attributes and methods. For example: in real life, a car is an object. The car
has attributes, such as weight and color, and methods, such as drive and
brake.

Attributes and methods are basically variables and functions that belongs
to the class. These are often referred to as "class members".

A class is a user-defined data type that we can use in our program, and it
works as an object constructor, or a "blueprint" for creating objects.

Create a Class
To create a class, use the class keyword:

Example
Create a class called "MyClass":

class MyClass { // The class

public: // Access specifier
int myNum; // Attribute (int variable)
string myString; // Attribute (string variable)
};

Example explained
 The class keyword is used to create a class called MyClass.
 The public keyword is an access specifier, which specifies that
members (attributes and methods) of the class are accessible from
outside the class. You will learn more about access specifiers later.
 Inside the class, there is an integer variable myNum and a string
variable myString. When variables are declared within a class, they are
called attributes.
  At last, end the class definition with a semicolon ;.

Create an Object
In C++, an object is created from a class. We have already created the class
named MyClass, so now we can use this to create objects.

To create an object of MyClass, specify the class name, followed by the object
name.

To access the class attributes (myNum and myString), use the dot syntax (.) on
the object:

Example
Create an object called "myObj" and access the attributes:

class MyClass { // The class

public: // Access specifier
int myNum; // Attribute (int variable)
string myString; // Attribute (string variable)
};

int main() {
MyClass myObj; // Create an object of MyClass

// Access attributes and set values

myObj.myNum = 15;
myObj.myString = "Some text";

// Print attribute values

cout << myObj.myNum << "\n";
cout << myObj.myString;
return 0;
}

Multiple Objects
You can create multiple objects of one class:
Example
// Create a Car class with some attributes
class Car {
public:
string brand;
string model;
int year;
};

int main() {
// Create an object of Car
Car carObj1;
carObj1.brand = "BMW";
carObj1.model = "X5";
carObj1.year = 1999;

// Create another object of Car

Car carObj2;
carObj2.brand = "Ford";
carObj2.model = "Mustang";
carObj2.year = 1969;

// Print attribute values

cout << carObj1.brand << " " << carObj1.model << " " <<
carObj1.year << "\n";
cout << carObj2.brand << " " << carObj2.model << " " <<
carObj2.year << "\n";
return 0;
}

C++ Class Methods

Methods are functions that belongs to the class.

There are two ways to define functions that belongs to a class:

 Inside class definition

 Outside class definition

In the following example, we define a function inside the class, and we name
it "myMethod".

Note: You access methods just like you access attributes; by creating an
object of the class and using the dot syntax (.):
Inside Example
class MyClass { // The class
public: // Access specifier
void myMethod() { // Method/function defined inside the class
cout << "Hello World!";
}
};

int main() {
MyClass myObj; // Create an object of MyClass
myObj.myMethod(); // Call the method
return 0;
}
To define a function outside the class definition, you have to declare it inside
the class and then define it outside of the class. This is done by specifiying
the name of the class, followed the scope resolution :: operator, followed by
the name of the function:

Outside Example
class MyClass { // The class
public: // Access specifier
void myMethod(); // Method/function declaration
};

// Method/function definition outside the class

void MyClass::myMethod() {
cout << "Hello World!";
}

int main() {
MyClass myObj; // Create an object of MyClass
myObj.myMethod(); // Call the method
return 0;
}

Parameters
You can also add parameters:
Example
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Car {
public:
int speed(int maxSpeed);
};

int Car::speed(int maxSpeed) {

return maxSpeed;
}

int main() {
Car myObj; // Create an object of Car
cout << myObj.speed(200); // Call the method with an argument
return 0;
}

C++ Constructors
A constructor in C++ is a special method that is automatically called when
an object of a class is created.

To create a constructor, use the same name as the class, followed by

parentheses ():

Example
class MyClass { // The class
public: // Access specifier
MyClass() { // Constructor
cout << "Hello World!";
}
};

int main() {
MyClass myObj; // Create an object of MyClass (this will call the
constructor)
return 0;
}
Note: The constructor has the same name as the class, it is always public,
and it does not have any return value.
Constructor Parameters
Constructors can also take parameters (just like regular functions), which
can be useful for setting initial values for attributes.

The following class have brand, model and year attributes, and a constructor
with different parameters. Inside the constructor we set the attributes equal
to the constructor parameters (brand=x, etc). When we call the constructor
(by creating an object of the class), we pass parameters to the constructor,
which will set the value of the corresponding attributes to the same:

Example
class Car { // The class
public: // Access specifier
string brand; // Attribute
string model; // Attribute
int year; // Attribute
Car(string x, string y, int z) { // Constructor with parameters
brand = x;
model = y;
year = z;
}
};

int main() {
// Create Car objects and call the constructor with different values
Car carObj1("BMW", "X5", 1999);
Car carObj2("Ford", "Mustang", 1969);

// Print values
cout << carObj1.brand << " " << carObj1.model << " " <<
carObj1.year << "\n";
cout << carObj2.brand << " " << carObj2.model << " " <<
carObj2.year << "\n";
return 0;
}
Just like functions, constructors can also be defined outside the class. First,
declare the constructor inside the class, and then define it outside of the
class by specifying the name of the class, followed by the scope
resolution :: operator, followed by the name of the constructor (which is the
same as the class):
Example
class Car { // The class
public: // Access specifier
string brand; // Attribute
string model; // Attribute
int year; // Attribute
Car(string x, string y, int z); // Constructor declaration
};

// Constructor definition outside the class

Car::Car(string x, string y, int z) {
brand = x;
model = y;
year = z;
}

int main() {
// Create Car objects and call the constructor with different values
Car carObj1("BMW", "X5", 1999);
Car carObj2("Ford", "Mustang", 1969);

// Print values
cout << carObj1.brand << " " << carObj1.model << " " <<
carObj1.year << "\n";
cout << carObj2.brand << " " << carObj2.model << " " <<
carObj2.year << "\n";
return 0;
}

C++ Access Specifiers

By now, you are quite familiar with the public keyword that appears in all of
our class examples:

Example
class MyClass { // The class
public: // Access specifier
// class members goes here
};
The public keyword is an access specifier. Access specifiers define how the
members (attributes and methods) of a class can be accessed. In the
example above, the members are public - which means that they can be
accessed and modified from outside the code.
However, what if we want members to be private and hidden from the
outside world?

In C++, there are three access specifiers:

 public - members are accessible from outside the class

 private - members cannot be accessed (or viewed) from outside the
class
 protected - members cannot be accessed from outside the class,
however, they can be accessed in inherited classes. You will learn more
about Inheritance later.

In the following example, we demonstrate the differences

between public and private members:

Example
class MyClass {
public: // Public access specifier
int x; // Public attribute
private: // Private access specifier
int y; // Private attribute
};

int main() {
MyClass myObj;
myObj.x = 25; // Allowed (public)
myObj.y = 50; // Not allowed (private)
return 0;
}
If you try to access a private member, an error occurs:
error: y is private

Note: It is possible to access private members of a class using a public

method inside the same class. See the next chapter (Encapsulation) on how
to do this.

Tip: It is considered good practice to declare your class attributes as private

(as often as you can). This will reduce the possibility of yourself (or others)
to mess up the code. This is also the main ingredient of
the Encapsulation concept, which you will learn more about in the next
chapter.

Note: By default, all members of a class are private if you don't specify an
access specifier:
Example
class MyClass {
int x; // Private attribute
int y; // Private attribute
};