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Friend Functions

A friend function in C++ is a non-member function that can access private and protected members of a class, declared using the keyword 'friend'. It allows for operations on class members without needing an object, although it breaks encapsulation principles. The document includes a code example demonstrating the use of a friend function to sum complex numbers.

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2 views

Friend Functions

A friend function in C++ is a non-member function that can access private and protected members of a class, declared using the keyword 'friend'. It allows for operations on class members without needing an object, although it breaks encapsulation principles. The document includes a code example demonstrating the use of a friend function to sum complex numbers.

Uploaded by

Hasham Ahmad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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‭OOPS Lecture 1 ; Friend Functions‬

‭What is a friend function ?‬


‭ ‬‭friend function‬‭is a special type of function in‬‭C++ that can access‬
A
‭private and protected members of a class, even though it is‬‭not a member‬
‭of the class‬‭. It is declared using the keyword friend‬‭inside the class‬
‭definition.‬

‭Syntax:‬
friend‬‭
‭ ReturnType‬‭
FunctionName‬
(‭
‭P
‬arameters‬
);‬
‭

‭Purpose:‬
‭ friend function is used when a non-member function needs access to the‬
A
‭private or protected members of a class.‬

‭Properties:‬
‭Friend functions are not members of the class.‬

‭They are declared inside the class but defined outside the class.‬

‭ friend function has access to all members (private, protected, public) of‬
A
‭the class.‬

‭Called/used without using objects , e.g‬

complex‬‭
‭ c3‬‭
=‬‭
sumComplex‬
(‬
‭ c1‬
‭ ,‬
‭ c2‬
‭ );‬
‭
‭This function is invoked directly without using any object , e.g‬

c3.‬
‭ sumComplex‬
‭ (‭
‭ c
‬1‬
,‭
‭c‬2‬
)// wrong‬
‭

‭Can’t Access‬ ‭
datamembers‬‭directly. Requires an object‬‭and‬
‭access them by‬‭
objectname‬
.‭
‭d‬atamember‬
‭Limitations‬‭:‬
‭•‬ ‭ riend functions break the encapsulation principle by allowing‬
F
‭external functions to access private members.‬

‭Code‬‭:‬
#include‬‭
‭ <iostream>‬
using‬‭
‭ namespace‬‭
std‬
;‬
‭
class‬‭
‭ complex‬
{‬
‭
private:‬
‭
int‬‭
‭ real‬
;‬
‭
int‬‭
‭ imag‬
;‬
‭
public:‬
‭
complex‬
‭ () {} // Default Constructor‬
‭
complex‬
‭ (‭
‭i‬nt‬‭
real,‬‭
int‬‭
imag)‬
{‬
‭
this‬
‭ ->‬
‭ real‬‭
‭ =‬‭
real;‬
this‬
‭ ->‬
‭ imag‬‭
‭ =‬‭
imag;‬
}‬
‭
void‬‭
‭ display‬
()‬
‭
{‬
‭
cout<<real<<‬
‭ " + "‬
‭ <<imag<<‬
‭ "i "‬
‭ <<endl‬
‭ ;‬
‭
}‬
‭
friend‬‭
‭ complex‬‭
sumComplex‬
(‬
‭complex‬‭
‭ o1,‬‭
complex‬‭
o2);‬
};‬
‭
complex‬‭
‭ sumComplex‬
(‭
‭c‬omplex‬‭
o1,‬
complex‬‭
‭ o2)‬
{‬
‭
complex‬‭
‭ temp‬
;‬
‭
temp‬
‭ .‬
‭ real‬‭
‭ =‬‭
o1‬
.‬
‭ real‬‭
‭ +‬‭
o2‬
.‬
‭ real‬
‭ ;‬
‭
temp‬
‭ .‬
‭ imag‬‭
‭ =‬‭
o1‬
.‬
‭ imag‬‭
‭ +‬‭
o2‬
.‬
‭ imag‬
‭ ;‬
‭
return‬‭
‭ temp‬
;‬
‭
}‬
‭
int‬‭
‭ main‬
()‬
‭
{‬
‭
complex‬‭
‭ c1‬
(‭
‭ 3
‬‬,‬‭
‭ 4‬);‬
‭
c1‬
‭ .‬
‭ display‬
‭ ();‬
‭
complex‬‭
‭ c2‬
(‭
‭ 1
‬‬,‭
‭2‬‭
)
‬;‬
c2‬
‭ .‬
‭ display‬
‭ ();‬
‭
complex‬‭
‭ c3‬‭
=‬‭
sumComplex‬
(‭
‭c‬1‬
,‭
‭ c
‬2‬
);‬
‭
cout<<‬
‭ "The sum of Complex numbers is = "‬
‭ ;‬
‭
c3‬
‭ .‬
‭ display‬
‭ ();‬
‭
return‬‭
‭ 0‭
;‬‬
}‬
‭

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