14.3 — Member functions

In lesson 13.5 -- Introduction to structs, members, and member selection, we introduced the struct program-defined type, which can contain member variables. Here is an example of a struct used to hold a date:

struct Date
{
    int year {};
    int month {};
    int day {};
};

Now, if we want to print the date to the screen (something we probably want to do a lot), it makes sense to write a function to do this. Here’s a full program:

#include <iostream>

struct Date
{
    // here are our member variables
    int year {};
    int month {};
    int day {};
};

void print(const Date& date)
{
    // member variables accessed using member selection operator (.)
    std::cout << date.year << '/' << date.month << '/' << date.day;
}

int main()
{
    Date today { 2020, 10, 14 }; // aggregate initialize our struct

    today.day = 16; // member variables accessed using member selection operator (.)
    print(today);   // non-member function accessed using normal calling convention

    return 0;
}

This program prints:

2020/10/16

The separation of properties and actions

Take a look around you -- everywhere you look are objects: books and buildings and food and even you. Real-life objects have two major components to them: 1) Some number of observable properties (e.g. weight, color, size, solidity, shape, etc…), and 2) Some number of actions that they can perform or have performed on them (e.g. being opened, damaging something else, etc…) based on those properties. These properties and actions are inseparable.

In programming, we represent properties with variables, and actions with functions.

In the Date example above, note that we have defined our properties (the member variables of Date) and the actions we perform using those properties (the function print()) separately. We are left to infer a connection between Date and print() based solely on the const Date& parameter of print().

While we could put both Date and print() into a namespace (to make it clearer that the two are meant to be packaged together), that adds yet more names into our program and more namespace prefixes, cluttering our code.

It sure would be nice if there were some way to define our properties and actions together, as a single package.

Member functions

In addition to having member variables, class types (which includes structs, classes, and unions) can also have their own functions! Functions that belong to a class type are called member functions.

Functions that are not member functions are called non-member functions (or occasionally free functions) to distinguish them from member functions. The print() function above is a non-member function.

Member functions must be declared inside the class type definition, and can be defined inside or outside of the class type definition. As a reminder, a definition is also a declaration, so if we define a member function inside the class, that counts as a declaration.

To keep things simple, we’ll define our member functions inside the class type definition for now.

A member function example

Let’s rewrite the Date example from the top of the lesson, converting print() from a non-member function into a member function:

// Member function version
#include <iostream>

struct Date
{
    int year {};
    int month {};
    int day {};

    void print() // defines a member function named print
    {
        std::cout << year << '/' << month << '/' << day;
    }
};

int main()
{
    Date today { 2020, 10, 14 }; // aggregate initialize our struct

    today.day = 16; // member variables accessed using member selection operator (.)
    today.print();  // member functions also accessed using member selection operator (.)

    return 0;
}

This program compiles and produces the same result as above:

2020/10/16

There are three key differences between the non-member and member examples:

1. Where we declare (and define) the print() function
2. How we call the print() function
3. How we access members inside the print() function

Let’s explore each of these in turn.

Member functions are declared inside the class type definition

In the non-member example, the print() non-member function is defined outside of the Date struct, in the global namespace. By default, it has external linkage, so it could be called from other source files (with the appropriate forward declaration).

In the member example, the print() member function is declared (and in this case, defined) inside the Date struct definition. Because print() is declared as part of the Date, this tells the compiler that print() is a member function.

Member functions defined inside the class type definition are implicitly inline, so they will not cause violations of the one-definition rule if the class type definition is included into multiple code files.

Calling member functions (and the implicit object)

In the non-member example, we call print(today), where today is (explicitly) passed as an argument.

In the member example, we call today.print(). This syntax, which uses the member selection operator (.) to select the member function to call, is consistent with how we access member variables (e.g. today.day = 16;).

All (non-static) member functions must be called using an object of that class type. In this case, today is the object that print() is being called on.

Note that in the member function case, we don’t need to pass today as an argument. The object that a member function is called on is implicitly passed to the member function. For this reason, the object that a member function is called on is often called the implicit object.

In other words, when we call today.print(), today is the implicit object, and it is implicitly passed to the print() member function.

Accessing members inside a member function uses the implicit object

Here’s the non-member version of print() again:

// non-member version of print
void print(const Date& date)
{
    // member variables accessed using member selection operator (.)
    std::cout << date.year << '/' << date.month << '/' << date.day;
}

This version of print() has reference parameter const Date& date. Within the function, we access the members through this reference parameter, as date.year, date.month, and date.day. When print(today) is called, the date reference parameter is bound to argument today, and date.year, date.month, and date.day evaluate to today.year, today.month, and today.day respectively.

Now let’s look at the definition of the print() member function again:

    void print() // defines a member function named print()
    {
        std::cout << year << '/' << month << '/' << day;
    }

In the member example, we access the members as year, month, and day.

Inside a member function, any member identifier that is not prefixed with the member selection operator (.) is associated with the implicit object.

In other words, when today.print() is called, today is our implicit object, and year, month, and day (which are not prefixed) evaluate to the values of today.year, today.month, and today.day respectively.

Another member function example

Here’s an example with a slightly more complex member function:

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

struct Person
{
    std::string name{};
    int age{};

    void kisses(const Person& person)
    {
        std::cout << name << " kisses " << person.name << '\n';
    }
};

int main()
{
    Person joe{ "Joe", 29 };
    Person kate{ "Kate", 27 };

    joe.kisses(kate);

    return 0;
}

This produces the output:

Joe kisses Kate

Let’s examine how this works. First, we define two Person structs, joe and kate. Next, we call joe.kisses(kate). joe is the implicit object here, and kate is passed as an explicit argument.

When the kisses() member function executes, the identifier name doesn’t use the member selection operator (.), so it refers to the implicit object, which is joe. So this resolves to joe.name. person.name uses the member selection operator, so it does not refer to the implicit object. Since person is a reference for kate, this resolves to kate.name.

Member variables and functions can be defined in any order

The C++ compiler normally compiles code from top to bottom. For each name encountered, the compiler determines whether it has already seen a declaration for that name, so that it can do proper type checking.

This means that inside a non-member function, you can’t access a variable or call a function that hasn’t at least been declared:

void x()
{
    y(); // error: y not declared yet, so compiler doesn't know what it is
}
 
int y()
{
    return 5;
}

However, with member functions (and member data initializers), this limitation doesn’t apply, and we can define our members in any order we like. For example:

struct Foo
{
    int m_x{ y() };   // okay to call y() here, even though y() isn't defined until later

    void x() { y(); } // okay to call y() here, even though y() isn't defined until later
    int y()  { return 5; }
};

Member functions can be overloaded

Just like non-member functions, member functions can be overloaded, so long as each member function can be differentiated.

Here’s an example of a Date struct with overloaded print() member functions:

#include <iostream>
#include <string_view>

struct Date
{
    int year {};
    int month {};
    int day {};

    void print()
    {
        std::cout << year << '/' << month << '/' << day;
    }

    void print(std::string_view prefix)
    {
        std::cout << prefix << year << '/' << month << '/' << day;
    }
};

int main()
{
    Date today { 2020, 10, 14 };

    today.print(); // calls Date::print()
    std::cout << '\n';

    today.print("The date is: "); // calls Date::print(std::string_view)
    std::cout << '\n';

    return 0;
}

This prints:

10/14/2020
The date is: 10/14/2020

Structs and member functions

In C, structs only have data members, not member functions.

In C++, while designing classes, Bjarne Stroustrup spent some amount of time considering whether structs (which were inherited from C) should be granted the ability to have member functions. Upon consideration, he determined that they should.

In modern C++, it is fine for structs to have member functions. This excludes constructors, which are a special type of member function that we cover in upcoming lesson 14.9 -- Introduction to constructors. A class type with a constructor is no longer an aggregate, and we want our structs to remain aggregates.

Class types with no data members

It is possible to create class types with no data members (e.g. class types that only have member functions). It is also possible to instantiate objects of such a class type:

#include <iostream>

struct Foo
{
    void printHi() { std::cout << "Hi!\n"; }
};

int main()
{
    Foo f{};
    f.printHi(); // requires object to call

    return 0;
}

However, if a class type does not have any data members, then using a class type is probably overkill. In such cases, consider using a namespace (containing non-member functions) instead. This makes it clearer to the reader that no data is being managed (and does not require an object to be instantiated to call the functions).

#include <iostream>

namespace Foo
{
    void printHi() { std::cout << "Hi!\n"; }
};

int main()
{
    Foo::printHi(); // no object needed

    return 0;
}

Quiz time

Question #1

Create a struct called IntPair that holds two integers. Add a member function named print that prints the value of the two integers.

The following program function should compile:

#include <iostream>

// Provide the definition for IntPair and the print() member function here

int main()
{
	IntPair p1 {1, 2};
	IntPair p2 {3, 4};

	std::cout << "p1: ";
	p1.print();

	std::cout << "p2: ";
	p2.print();

	return 0;
}

and produce the output:

p1: Pair(1, 2)
p2: Pair(3, 4)

Show Solution

#include <iostream>

struct IntPair
{
	int first{};
	int second{};

	void print()
	{
		std::cout << "Pair(" << first << ", " << second << ")\n";
	}
};

int main()
{
	IntPair p1 {1, 2};
	IntPair p2 {3, 4};

	std::cout << "p1: ";
	p1.print();

	std::cout << "p2: ";
	p2.print();

	return 0;
}

Question #2

Add a new member function to IntPair named isEqual that returns a Boolean indicating whether one IntPair is equal to another.

The following program function should compile:

#include <iostream>

// Provide the definition for IntPair and the member functions here

int main()
{
	IntPair p1 {1, 2};
	IntPair p2 {3, 4};

	std::cout << "p1: ";
	p1.print();

	std::cout << "p2: ";
	p2.print();

	std::cout << "p1 and p1 " << (p1.isEqual(p1) ? "are equal\n" : "are not equal\n");
	std::cout << "p1 and p2 " << (p1.isEqual(p2) ? "are equal\n" : "are not equal\n");

	return 0;
}

and produce the output:

p1: Pair(1, 2)
p2: Pair(3, 4)
p1 and p1 are equal
p1 and p2 are not equal 

Show Solution

#include <iostream>

struct IntPair
{
	int first{};
	int second{};

	void print()
	{
		std::cout << "Pair(" << first << ", " << second << ")\n";
	}

	bool isEqual(IntPair a)
	{
		return (first == a.first) && (second == a.second);
	}
};

int main()
{
	IntPair p1 {1, 2};
	IntPair p2 {3, 4};

	std::cout << "p1: ";
	p1.print();

	std::cout << "p2: ";
	p2.print();

	std::cout << "p1 and p1 " << (p1.isEqual(p1) ? "are equal\n" : "are not equal\n");
	std::cout << "p1 and p2 " << (p1.isEqual(p2) ? "are equal\n" : "are not equal\n");

	return 0;
}