Chapter 6: Classes

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In this chapter classes are the topic of discussion. Two special member functions, the constructor and the destructor, are introduced.

In steps we will construct a class Person, which could be used in a database application to store a name, an address and a phone number of a person.

Let's start off by introducing the declaration of a class Person right away. The class declaration is normally contained in the header file of the class, e.g., person.h. The class declaration is generally not called a declaration, though. Rather, the common name for class declarations is class interface, to be distinguished from the definitions of the function members, called the class implementation. Thus, the interface of the class Person is given next:

    #include <string>

    class Person
    {
        string 
            d_name,             // name of person
            d_address,          // address field
            d_phone;            // telephone number
        unsigned
            d_weight;           // the weight in kg.

        public:                 // interface functions
            void setname(string const &n);
            void setaddress(string const &a);
            void setphone(string const &p);
            void setweight(unsigned weight);

            string const &getname() const;
            string const &getaddress() const;
            string const &getphone() const;
            unsigned getweight() const;
    };

The data fields in this class are d_name, d_address, d_phone and d_weight. All fields (but d_weight) are string objects. As the data fields are not given a specific access modifier, they are are private, which means that they can only be accessed by the functions of the class Person. Alternatively, the label `private:' might have been used at the beginning of a private section of the class definition.

The data are manipulated by interface functions which take care of all communication with code outside of the class. Either to set the data fields to a given value (e.g., setname()) or to inspect the data (e.g., getname()).

Note once again how similar the class is to the struct. The fundamental difference being that by default classes have private members, whereas structs have public members. Since the convention calls for the public members of a class to appear first, the keyword private is needed to switch back from public members to the (default) private situation.

6.1: The constructor

A class in C++ may contain two special categories of member functions which are involved in the internal workings of the class. These member function categories are, on the one hand, the constructors and, on the other hand, the destructor. The primary function of the destructor is returning memory allocated by an object when an object goes `out of scope'. Allocation of memory is discussed in chapter 7, and the discussion of destructors is therefore postponed until that chapter.

This chapter, hewever, will concentrate on the basic form of the class and of their constructor members.

The constructor member function has by definition the same name as the corresponding class. The constructor does not specify a return value, not even void. E.g., for the class Person the constructor is Person::Person(). The C++ run-time system makes sure that the constructor of a class, if defined, is called when a variable of the class, called an object, is created. It is of course possible to define a class which has no constructor at all. In that case the run-time system either calls no function or it calls a dummy constructor (i.e., a constructor which performs no actions) when a corresponding object is created. The actual generated code of course depends on the compiler (A compiler-supplied constructor in a class which contains composed objects (see section 6.4) will `automatically' call the member initializers, and therefore does perform some actions. We postpone the discussion of such constructors to 6.4.1.).

Objects may be defined at a local (function) level, or at a global level (in which its status is comparable to a global variable).

When an object is locally defined (in a function), the constructor is called every time the function is called. The object's constructor is then called at the point where the variable is defined (a subtlety here is that a variable may be defined implicitly as, e.g., a temporary variable in an expression).

When an object is defined as a static object (i.e., it is static variable) in a function, the constructor is called when the function in which the static variable is defined is called for the first time.

When an object is defined as a global object the constructor is called when the program starts. Note that in this case the constructor is called even before the function main() is started. This feature is illustrated in the following program:

    #include <iostream>
    using namespace std;

    class Demo
    {
        public:
            Demo();
    };

    Demo::Demo()
    {
        cout << "Demo constructor called\n";
    }

    Demo
        d;

    int main()
    {}

    /*
        Generated output:
    Demo constructor called
    */

The above listing shows how a class Demo is defined which consists of just one function: the constructor. The constructor performs but one action: a message is printed. The program contains one global object of the class Demo, and main() has an empty body. Nonetheless, the program produces some output.

Some important characteristics of constructors are:

The constructor has the same name as its class.
The primary function of a constructor is to make sure that all its data members have sensible or at least defined values once the object has been constructed. We'll get back to this important task shortly.

The constructor does not have a return value. This is true for the declaration of the constructor in the class definition, as in:

        class Demo
        {
            public:
                Demo();         // no return value here
        };

and it also holds true for the definition of the constructor function, as in:

        Demo::Demo()            // no return value here
        {
            // statements ...
        }

The constructor function in the example above has no arguments. It is called the default constructor. That a constructor has no arguments is, however, no requirement per se. We shall shortly see that it is possible to define constructors with arguments as well as without arguments.
NOTE: Once a constructor is defined having arguments, the default constructor doesn't exist anymore, unless the default constructor is definied explicitly too.
The above note has important consequences, as the default constructor is required in cases where it must be able to construct an object either with or witout explicit initialization values. By merely defining a constructor having at least one arguments, the implicitly available default constructor disappears from view. As noted, to make it available again in this situation, it must be defined explicitly too.

6.1.1: A first application

As illustrated at the beginning of this chapter, the class Person contains three private string data members and an unsigned d_weight data member. These data members can be manipulated by the interface functions. The internal workings of the class are as follows: when a name, address or phone number or weight of a Person is defined, the corresponding private data member is given a (new) value. An obvious setup is as follows:

The assignment to a data member (using a set...() function) consists of the assignment of the new value to the corresponding data member.
Inspecting a data member by means of one of the get...() functions simply returns the corresponding data member

The set...() functions could be constructed as follows:

    #include "person.h"                 // given earlier

    // interface functions set...()
    void Person::setname(string const &name)
    {
        d_name = name;
    }

    void Person::setaddress(string const &address)
    {
        d_address = address;
    }

    void Person::setphone(string const &phone)
    {
        d_phone = phone;
    }

    void Person::setweight(unsigned weight)
    {
        d_weight = weight;
    }

The get...() interface functions are now defined. Note the occurence of the keyword const following the parameter lists of the functions: the member functions are const member functions, indicating that they will not modify their object when they're called. Furthermore, notice that the return values of the member functions of the string data members are string const & values: the const here indicates that the caller of the memberfunction cannot alter the returned value itself. The caller of the get...() member function could copy the returned value to a variable of its own, though, and that variable's value may then of course be modified ad lib. Const member functions are discussed in more detail in section 6.2. The return value of the getweight() member function, however, is a plain unsigned, as this can be a simple copy of the value that's stored in the Person's weight member:

    #include "person.h"                 // given earlier

    // interface functions get...()
    string const &Person::getname() const
    {
        return d_name;
    }

    string const &Person::getaddress() const
    {
       return d_address;
    }

    string const &Person::getphone() const
    {
       return d_phone;
    }

    unsigned Person::getweight() const
    {
       return d_weight;
    }

The class definition of the Person class given earlier can still be used. The set...() and get...() functions merely implement the member functions declared in that class definition.

To demonstrate the use of the class Person, an example is now given. An object is initialized and passed to a function printperson(), which prints the person's data . Note also the usage of the reference operator & in the argument list of the function printperson(). This way only a reference to an existing Person object is passed, rather than a whole object. The fact that printperson() does not modify its argument is evident from the fact that the argument is declared const.

Alternatively, the function printperson() could have been defined as a public member function of the class Person, rather than a plain, objectless function.

    #include <iostream>
    #include "person.h"                 // given earlier

    void printperson(Person const &p)
    {
        cout << "Name    : " << p.getname()     << endl <<
                "Address : " << p.getaddress()  << endl <<
                "Phone   : " << p.getphone()    << endl <<
                "Weight  : " << p.getweight()   << endl;
    }

    int main()
    {
        Person
            p;

        p.setname("Linus Torvalds");
        p.setaddress("E-mail: Torvalds@cs.helsinki.fi");
        p.setphone(" - not sure - ");
        p.setweight(75);           // kg.

        printperson(p);
        return 0;
    }
/*
    Produced output:

Name    : Linus Torvalds
Address : E-mail: Torvalds@cs.helsinki.fi
Phone   :  - not sure - 
Weight  : 75
*/

6.1.2: Constructors: with and without arguments

In the above declaration of the class Person the constructor has no arguments. C++ allows constructors to be defined with or without argument lists. The arguments are supplied when an object is created.

For the class Person a constructor may be handy which expects three strings: the name, address and phone number. Such a constructor is, for example:

    Person::Person(string const &name, string const &address, 
                    string const &phone, unsigned weight)
    {
        d_name = name;
        d_address = address;
        d_phone = phone;
        d_weight = weight;
    }

The constructor must be declared in the class declaration as well:

    class Person
    {
        public:
            Person(string const &name, string const &address, 
                           string const &phone, unsigned weight);

            // rest of the class interface
    };

However, now that this constructor has been declared, the default constructor must be declared explicitly too, if we still want to be able to construct a plain Person object without any specific value of its name, address and phone data members.

Since C++ allows function overloading, such a declaration of a constructor can co-exist with a constructor without arguments. The class Person would thus have two constructors, and the relevant part of the class interface becomes:

    class Person
    {
        public:
            Person();
            Person(string const &name, string const &address, 
                           string const &phone, unsigned weight);

            // rest of the class interface
    };

In this case, the Person() constructor doesn't have to do much, as it doesn't have to initialize the string data members of the Person object: these data members are by default initialized to empy strings themselves. However, there is also an unsigned data member. That member is a variable of a basic type, contrary to the string members, which already use constructors of their own. So, unless the value of the weight data member is explicitly initialized, it will be

A random value for local Person objects,
0 for global and static Person objects

The 0-value might not be too bad, but normally we don't want a random value for our data members. So, the default constructor has a job to do: initializing the data members which are not initialized to sensible values automatically. Here is an implementation of the default constructor:

    Person::Person()
    {
        d_weight = 0;
    }

The use of a constructor with and without arguments (i.e., the default constructor) is illustrated in the following code fragment. The object a is initialized at its definition using the constructor with arguments, with the b object the default constructor is used:

    int main()
    {
        Person
            a("Karel", "Rietveldlaan 37", "542 6044", 70),
            b;

        return 0;
    }

In this example, the Person objects a and b are created when main() is started: they are local objects, living for as long as the main() function is active.

If Person objects must be contructed using other arguments, other constructors are required as well. It is also possible to define default parameter values. These default parameter values must be given in the class interface, e.g.,

    class Person
    {
        public:
            Person();
            Person(string const &name, 
                            string const &address = "--unknown--", 
                            string const &phone   = "--unknown--", 
                            unsigned weight = 0);

            // rest of the class interface
    };

6.1.2.1: The order of construction

The possibility to pass arguments to constructors offers us the chance to monitor at which moment in a program's execution an object is created This is shown in the next listing, using a class Test. The program listing below shows a class Test, a global Test object, and two local Test objects: in a function func() and in the main() function. The order of construction is as expected: first global, then main's first local object, then func()'s local object, and then, finally, main()'s second local object:

    #include <iostream>
    #include <string>

    class Test
    {
        public:
            Test(string const &name);   // constructor with an argument
    };

    Test::Test(string const &name)
    {
        cout << "Test object " << name << " created" << endl;
    }

    Test
        globaltest("global");

    void func()
    {
        Test
            functest("func");
    }

    int main()
    {
        Test
            first("main first");
        func();
        Test
            second("main second");
        return 0;
    }
/*
    Generated output:
Test object global created
Test object main first created
Test object func created
Test object main second created
*/

6.2: Const member functions and const objects

The keyword const is often seen in the declarations of member functions following the argument list. This keyword is used to indicate that a member function does not alter the data fields of its object, but only inspects them. These member functions are called const member functions. Using the example of the class Person, we see that the get...() functions were declared const:

    class Person
    {
        public:
            string const &getname() const;
            string const &getaddress() const;
            string const &getphone() const;
    };

As illustrated in this fragment, the keyword const appears following the argument list of functions. Note that in this situation the rule of thumb given in section 3.1.3 applies once again: whichever appears before the keyword const, may not be altered and doesn't alter (its own) data.

The const specification must be repeated in the definition of member functions themselves:

    string const &Person::getname() const
    {
        return d_name;
    }

A member function which is declared and defined as const may not alter any data fields of its class. In other words, a statement like

    d_name = 0;

in the above const function getname() would result in a compilation error.

Const member functions exist because C++ allows const objects to be created, or references to const objects to be passed to functions. For such objects only member functions which do not modify it, i.e., the const member functions, may be called. The only exception to this rule are the constructors and destructor: these are called `automatically'. The possibility of calling constructors or destructors is comparable to the definition of a variable int const max = 10. In situations like these, no assignment but rather an initialization takes place at creation-time. Analogously, the constructor can initialize its object when the const variable is created, but subsequent assignments cannot take place.

The following example shows how a const object of the class Person can be defined. When the object is created the data fields are initialized by the constructor:

    Person const
        me("Karel", "karel@icce.rug.nl", "542 6044");

Following this definition it would be illegal to try to redefine the name, address or phone number for the object me: a statement as

    me.setname("Lerak");

would not be accepted by the compiler. Once more, look at the position of the const keyword in the variable definition: const, following Person and preceding me associates to the left: the Person object in general must remain unaltered. Hence, if multiple objects were defined here, both would be constant Person objects, as in:

    Person const        // all constant Person objects
        kk("Karel", "karel@icce.rug.nl", "542 6044"),
        fbb("Frank", "f.b.brokken@rc.rug.nl", "363 3688");

Member functions which do not modify their object should be defined as const member functions. This subsequently allows the use of these functions with const objects or with const references.

6.3: The keyword `inline'

Let us take another look at the implementation of the function Person::getname():

    string const &Person::getname() const
    {
        return d_name;
    }

This function is used to retrieve the name field of an object of the class Person. In a code fragment like:

    Person
        frank("Frank", "Oostumerweg 17", "403 2223");

    cout << frank.getname();

the following actions take place:

The function Person::getname() is called.
This function returns the name of the object frank as a reference.
The referenced name is inserted into cout.

Especially the first part of these actions results in some time loss, since an extra function call is necessary to retrieve the value of the name field. Sometimes a faster procedure may be desirable, in which the name field becomes immediately available; thus avoiding the call to getname(). This can be realized by using inline functions, which can be defined in two ways.

6.3.1: Inline functions within class declarations

Using the first method to implement inline functions, the code of a function is defined in a class declaration itself. For the class Person this would lead to the following implementation of getname():

    class Person
    {
        public:
            string const &getname() const
            { 
                return d_name; 
            }
    };

Note that the inline code of the function getname() now literally occurs inline in the interface of the class Person. The keyword const occurs after the function declaration, and before the code block.

Thus, inline functions appearing in the class interface show their full (and standard) definition within the class interface itself.

The effect of this is the following. When getname() is called in a program statement, the compiler generates the code of the function when the function is used in the source text, rather than a call to the function, appearing only once in the compiled program.

This construction, where the function code itself is inserted rather than a call to the function, is called an inline function. Note that the use of inline function results in duplication of the code of the function for each invocation of the inline function. This is probably ok if the function is a small one, and needs to be executed fast. It's not so desirable if the code of the function is extensive. The compiler knows this too, and considers the use of inline functions a request rather than a command: if the compiler considers the function too long, it will not grant the request, but will, instead, treat the function as a normal function.

6.3.2: Inline functions outside of class declarations

The second way to implement inline functions leaves a class interface intact, but mentions the keyword inline in the function definition. The interface and implementation in this case are as follows:

    class Person
    {
        public:
            string const &getname() const;
    };

    inline string const &Person::getname() const
    {
        return d_name;
    }

Again, the compiler will insert the code of the function getname() instead of generating a call.

The inline function must still appear in the same file as the class interface, and cannot be compiled to be stored in, e.g., a library. The reason for this is that the compiler rather than the linker must be able to insert the code of the function in a source text offered for compilation. Code stored in a library is inaccessible to the compiler. Consequently, inline functions are always defined together with the class interface.

6.3.3: When to use inline functions

When should inline functions be used, and when not? There are some rules of thumb which may be followed:

In general inline functions should not be used. Voilà, that's simple, isn't it?
Defining inline functions can be considered once a fully developed and tested program runs too slowly and shows `bottlenecks' in certain functions. A profiler, which runs a program and determines where most of the time is spent, is necessary for such optimization.
inline functions can be used when member functions consist of one very simple statement (such as the return statement in the function Person::getname()).
By defining a function as inline, its implementation is inserted in the code wherever the function is used. As a consequence, when the implementation of the inline function changes, all sources using the inline function must be recompiled. In practice that means that all functions must be recompiled that include (either directly or indirectly) the header file of the class in which the inline function is defined.
It is only useful to implement an inline function when the time which is spent during a function call is long compared to the code in the function. An example where an inline function has hardly any effect at all is the following:
```
    void Person::printname() const
    {
        cout << d_name << endl;
    }
```
This function, which is, for the sake of the example, presented as a member of the class Person, contains only one statement.
However, the statement takes a relatively long time to execute. In general, functions which perform input and output take lots of time. The effect of the conversion of this function printname() to inline would therefore lead to a very insignificant gain in execution time.

All inline functions have one disadvantage: the actual code is inserted by the compiler and must therefore be known compile-time. Therefore, as mentioned earlier, an inline function can never be located in a run-time library. Practically this means that an inline function is placed near the interface of a class, usually in the same header file. The result is a header file which not only shows the declaration of a class, but also part of its implementation, thus blurring the distinction between interface and implementation.

Finally, note once again that using the keyword inline is not really a command for the compiler. Rather, it is a request the compiler may or may not grant.

6.4: Objects in objects: composition

Often objects are used as data members in class definitions. This is referred to as composition.

For example, the class Person holds information about the name, address and phone number. This information is stored in string data members, which are themselves objects: composition.

Composition is not extraordinary or C++ specific: in C it is quite common to include a struct or union in other compound types.

The initialization of composed objects deserves some extra attention: the topics of the coming sections.

6.4.1: Composition and const objects: const member initializers

Composition of objects has an important consequence for the constructor functions of the `composed' (embedded) object. Unless explicitly instructed otherwise, the compiler generates code to call the default constructors of all composed classes in the constructor of the composing class.

Often it is desirable to initialize a composed object from a specific constructor of the composing class. This is illustrated below for the class Person. In this fragment it assumed that a constructor for a Person should be defined expecting four arguments: the name, address and phone number plus the person's weight:

    Person::Person(char const *name, char const *address,
                    char const *phone, unsigned weight)
    : 
        d_name(name),
        d_address(address),
        d_phone(phone),
        d_weight(weight)
    {}

Following the argument list of the constructor Person::Person(), the constructors of the string data members are explicitly called, e.g., name(mn). The initialization takes place before the code block of Person::Person() (now empty) is executed. This construction, where member initialization takes place before the code block itself is executed is called member initialization. Member initialization can be made explicit in the member initializer list, that may appear after the parameter list, between a colon (announcing the start of the member initializer list) and the opening curly brace of the code block of the constructor.

Member initialization always occurs when objects are composed in classes: if no constructors are mentioned in the member initializer list the default constructors of the objects are called. Note that this only holds true for objects. Data members of primitive data types are not automatically initialized.

Member initialization can, however, also be used for primitive data members, like int and double. The above example shows the initialization of the data member weight from the parameter weight. For further illustration, we used the same identifiers here: with member initialization there is no ambiguity and the first (left) identifier in weight(weight) is always interpreted as the data member to be initialized, whereas the identifier between parentheses is interpreted as the parameter.

When a class has multiple composed data members, all members can be initialized using a `member initializer list': this list consists of the constructors of all composed objects, separated by commas. The order in which the objects are initialized is defined by the order in which the members are defined in the class interface. If the order of the initialization in the constructor differs from the order in the class interface, the compiler complains, and reorders the initialization so as to match the order of the class interface.

Member initializers should be used as much as possible: it can be downright necessary to use them, and not using member initializers can result in inefficient code: with objects always at least the default constructor is called. So, in the following example, first the string members are initialized to empty strings, whereafter these values are immediately redefined to their intended values. Of course, the immediate initialization to the intended values would have been more efficent.

    Person::Person(char const *name, char const *address,
                    char const *phone, unsigned weight)
    { 
        d_name = name;
        d_address = address;
        d_phone = phone;
        d_weight = weight;
    }

This method is not only inefficient, but even more: it may not work when the composed object is declared as a const object. A data field like birthday is a good candidate for being const, since a person's birthday usually doesn't change too much.

This means that when the definition of a Person is altered so as to contain a string const birthday member, the implementation of the constructor Person::Person() in which also the birthday must be initialized, a member initializer must be used for birthday. Direct assignment of the birthday would be illegal, since birthday is a const data member. The next example illustrates the const data member initialization:

    Person::Person(char const *name, char const *address,
                    char const *phone, char const *birthday,
                    unsigned weight)
    :
        d_name(name),
        d_address(address),
        d_phone(phone),
        d_birthday(birthday),       // assume: string const d_birthday
        d_weight(weight)
    {}

Concluding, the rule of thumb is the following: when composition of objects is used, the member initializer method is preferred to explicit initialization of composed objects. This not only results in more efficient code, but it also allows composed objects to be declared as const objects.

6.4.2: Composition and reference objects: reference member initializers

Apart from using member initializers to initialize composed objects (be they const objects or not), there is another situation where member initializers must be used. Consider the following situation.

A program uses an object of the class Configfile, defined in main() to access the information in a configuration file. The configuration file contains parameters of the program which may be set by changing the values in the configuration file, rather than by supplying command line arguments.

Assume that another object that is used in the function main() is an object of the class Process, doing `all the work'. What possibilities do we have to tell the object of the class Process that an object of the class Configfile exists?

The objects could have been declared as global objects. This is a possibility, but not a very good one, since all the advantages of local objects are lost.
The Configfile object may be passed to the Process object at construction time. Passing an object in a blunt way (i.e., by value) might not be a very good idea, since the object must be copied into the Configfile parameter, and then a data member of the Process class can be used to make the Configfile object accessible throughout the Process class. This might involve yet another object-copying task, as in the following situation:
```
    Process::Process(Configfile conf)   // a copy from the caller
    {
        d_conf = conf;                  // copying to conf_member
    }
```
The copy-instructions can be avoided by using pointers to the Configfile objects, as in:
```
    Process::Process(Configfile *conf)  // pointer to external object
    {
        d_conf = conf;                  // d_conf is a Configfile *
    }
```
This construction as such is ok, but forces us to use the `->' field selector operator, rather than the `.' operator, which is (disputably) awkward: conceptually one tends to think of the Configfile object as an object, and not as a pointer to an object. In C this would probably have been the preferred method, but in C++ we can do better.
Rather than using value or pointer parameters, the Configfile parameter could be defined as a reference parameter to the Process constructor. Next, we can define a Config reference data member in the class Process. Using the reference variable effectively uses a pointer, disguised as a variable.

However, the following construction will not result in the correct initialization of the Configfile &d_conf reference data member:

    Process::Process(Configfile &conf)
    {
        d_conf = conf;        // wrong: no assignment
    }

The statement d_conf = conf fails, because the compiler won't see this as an initialization, but considers this an assignment of one Configfile object (i.e., conf), to another (d_conf). It does so, because that's the normal interpretation: an assignment to a reference variable is actually an assignment to the variable the reference variable refers to. But to what variable does d_conf refer? To no variable, since we haven't initialized d_conf. After all, the whole purpose of the statement d_conf = conf was to initialize d_conf....

So, how do we proceed when d_conf must be initialized? In this situation we once again use the member initializer syntax. The following example shows the correct way to initialize d_conf:

    Process::Process(Configfile &conf)
    :
        d_conf(conf)      // initializing reference member
    {}

Note that this syntax can be used in all cases where reference data members are used. If d_ir would be an int reference data member, a construction like

    Process::Process(int &ir)
    :
        d_ir(ir)
    {}

would have been called for.

6.5: Header file organization with classes

In section 2.5.9 the requirements for header files when a C++ program also uses C functions were discussed.

When classes are used, there are more requirements for the organization of header files. In this section these requirements are covered.

First, the source files. With the exception of the occasional classless function, source files should contain the code of member functions of classes. With source files there are basically two approaches:

All required header files for a member function are included in each individual source file.
All required header files for all member functions are included in the class-headerfile, and each sourcefile of that class includes only the header file of its class.

The first alternative has the advantage of economy for the compiler: it only needs to read the header files that are necessary for a particular source file. It has the disadvantage that the program developer must include multiple header files again and again in sourcefiles: it both takes time to type the include-directives and to think about the header files which are needed in a particular source file.

The second alternative has the advantage of economy for the program developer: the header file of the class accumulates header files, so it tends to become more and more generally useful. It has the disadvantage that the compiler will often have to read header files which aren't actually used by the function defined in the source file.

With computers running faster and faster we think the second alternative is to be preferred over the first alternative. So, as a starting point we suggest that source files of a particular class MyClass are organized according to the following example:

    #include <myclass.h>

    int MyClass::aMemberFunction()
    {
    }

There is only one include-directive. Note that the directive refers to a header file in a directory mentioned in the INCLUDE-file environment variable. Local header files (using #include "myclass.h") could be used too, but that tends to complicate the organization of the class header file itself somewhat. If name collisions with existing header files might occur it pays off to have a subdirectory of one of the directories mentioned in the INCLUDE environment variable (e.g., /usr/local/include/myheaders/). If a class MyClass is developed there, create a subdirectory (or subdirectory link) myheaders of one of the standard INCLUDE directories to contain all header files of all classes that are developed as part of the project. The include-directives will then be similar to

#include
<myheaders/myclass.h>

, and name collisions with other header files are avoided.

The organization of the header file itself requires some attention. Consider the following example, in which two classes File and String are used.

Assume the File class has a member gets(String &destination), while the class String has a member function getLine(File &file). The (partial) header file for the class String is then:

    #ifndef _String_h_
    #define _String_h_

    #include <project/file.h>   // to know about a File

    class String
    {
        public:
            void getLine(File &file);
    };
    #endif

However, a similar setup is required for the class File:

    #ifndef _File_h_
    #define _File_h_

    #include <project/string.h>   // to know about a String

    class File
    {
        public:
            void gets(String &string);
    };
    #endif

Now we have created a problem. The compiler, trying to compile File::gets() proceeds as follows:

The header file project/string.h is opened to be read
_String_h_ is defined
The header file project/file.h is opened to be read
_File_h_ is defined
The header file project/string.h is opened to be read
_String_h_ has been defined, so project/string.h is skipped
The definition of the class File is parsed.
In the class definition contains a reference to a String object
As the class String hasn't been parsed yet, a String is an undefined type, and the compiler quits with an error.

The solution for this problem is to use a forward class reference before the class definition, and to include the corresponding class header file after the class definition. So we get:

    #ifndef _String_h_
    #define _String_h_

    class File;                 // forward reference

    class String
    {
        public:
            void getLine(File &file);
    };

    #include <project/file.h>   // to know about a File

    #endif

A similar setup is required for the class File:

    #ifndef _File_h_
    #define _File_h_

    class String;               // forward reference

    class File
    {
        public:
            void gets(String &string);
    };

    #include <project/string.h>   // to know about a String

    #endif

This works well in all situations where either references or pointers to another classes are involved and with (non-inline) member functions having class-type return values or parameters. But it doesn't work with composition, nor with inline member functions. Assume the class File has a composed data member of the class String. In that case, the class definition of the class File must include the header file of the class String before the class definition itself, because otherwise the compiler can't tell how big a File object will be, as it doesn't know the size of a String object once the definition of the File class is completed.

In cases where classes contain composed objects (or are derived from other classes, see chapter 13) the header files of the classes of the composed objects must have been read before the class definition itself. In such a case the class File might be defined as follows:

    #ifndef _File_h_
    #define _File_h_

    #include <project/string.h>     // to know about a String

    class File
    {
        String                      // composition !
            d_line;

        public:
            void gets(String &string);
    };
    #endif

Note that the class String can't have a File object as a composed member: such a situation would result again in an undefined class while compiling the sources of these classes.

All other required header files are either related to classes that are used only within the source files themselves (without being part of the current class definition), or they are related to classless functions (like memcpy()). All headers that are not required by the compiler to parse the current class definition can be mentioned below the class definition.

This approach allows us to introduce yet another refinement:

Header files in which a class interface is defined declares what can be declared before defining the class interface itself. Classes that are mentioned in the interface of the current class are specified as forward references unless
- They are a base class of the current class (see chapter 13);
- They are the class types of composed data members;
- They are used in inline member functions.
Header files of classes of objects that are either composed or inherited or that are used in inline functions, must be known to the compiler before the definition of the current class starts. The information in the header file itself is protected by the #ifndef ... #endif construction introduced in section 2.5.9. Sources using the class only need to include this header file (Lakos, (2001) refines this process even further. See his book Large-Scale C++ Software Design for further details). This header file should be made available in a well-known location, such as a directory or subdirectory of the standard INCLUDE path.
For the implementation of the member functions of the class the class header file is required and usually other header files (like #include <string>) are required as well. The class header file itself as well as these additional header files are included in a separate internal header file (for which the extension .ih (` internal header') is suggested. (In the past I tended to use the extension .H for this internal header file. However, some file systems (guess which?) have problems distinguishing lower- and uppercase filename characters. Therefore another extension is probably preferable to the .H extension).)
The .ih file should be defined in the same directory as the source files of the class, and has the following characteristics:
- There is no need for a protective #ifndef .. #endif shield, as the header file is never included by other header files.
- The standard .h header file defining the class interface is included.
- The header files of all classes used as forward references in the standard .h header file are included.
- Finally, all other header files that are required in the source files of the class are included.

An example of such a header file organization is:

First part, e.g., /usr/local/include/myheaders/file.h:

    #ifndef _File_h_
    #define _File_h_

    #include <fstream>      // for composed 'ifstream'

    class Buffer;           // forward reference

    class File              // class definition
    {
        ifstream
            d_instream;

        public:
            void gets(Buffer &buffer);
    };
    #endif

Second part, e.g., ~/myproject/file/file.ih, where all sources of the class File are stored:

    #include <myheaders/file.h> // make the class File known

    #include <buffer.h>         // make Buffer known to File

    #include <string>           // used by members of the class
    #include <sys/stat.h>       // File.

6.5.1: Using namespaces in header files

When entities from namespaces are used in header files, in general using directives should not be used in these header files if they are to be used as general header files declaring classes or other entities from a library. When the using directive is used in a header file then users of such a header file are forced to accept and use the declarations in all code that includes the particular header file.

For example, if in a namespace special an object Inserter cout is declared, then special::cout is of course a different object than std::cout. Now, if a class Flaw is constructed, in which the constructor expects a reference to a special::Inserter, then the class should be constructed as follows:

    class special::Inserter;

    class Flaw
    {
    public:
        Flaw(special::Inserter &ins);
    };

Now the person designing the class Flaw may be in a lazy mood, and might get bored by continuously having to prefix special:: before every entity from that namespace. So, the following construction is used:

    using namespace special;

    class Inserter;

    class Flaw
    {
    public:
        Flaw(Inserter &ins);
    };

This works fine, up to the point where somebody want to include flaw.h in other source files: because of the using directive, this latter person is now by implication also using namespace special, which could produce unwanted or unexpected effects:

    #include <flaw.h>
    #include <iostream>

    using std::cout;            

    int main()
    {
        cout << "starting" << endl;     // doesn't compile
    }

The compiler is confronted with two interpretations for cout: first, because of the using directive in the flaw.h header file, it considers cout a special::Extractor, then, because of the using directive in the user program, it considers cout a std::ostream. As compilers do, when confronted with an ambiguity, an error is reported.

As a rule of thumb, header files intented to be generally used should not contain using declarations. This rule does not hold true for header files which are included only by the sources of a class: here the programmer is free to apply as many using declarations as desired, as these directives never reach other sources.

6.6: The keyword `mutable'

Earlier, in section 6.2, the concepts of const member functions and const objects were introduced.

C++, however, allows the construction of objects which are, in a sense, neither const objects, nor non-const objects. Data members which are defined Using the keyword mutable, can be modified by const member functions.

An example of a situation where mutable might come in handy is where a const object would want to register the number of times it was used. A simple class allowing just, as well as an example in which a const object of the class Mutable that could be:

#include <string>
#include <iostream>
#include <memory>


class Mutable
{
    std::string d_name;
    mutable int d_count;                // uses mutable keyword 

    public:
        Mutable(std::string const &name)
        :
            d_name(name),
            d_count(0)
        {}

        void called() const
        {
            std::cout << "Calling " << d_name << 
                                    " (attempt " << ++d_count << ")\n";
        }
};


int main()
{
    Mutable const x("Constant mutable object");

    for (int idx = 0; idx < 4; idx++)
        x.called();                     // modify data of const object
}

/*
    Generated output:

    Calling Constant mutable object (attempt 1)
    Calling Constant mutable object (attempt 2)
    Calling Constant mutable object (attempt 3)
    Calling Constant mutable object (attempt 4)
*/

The advantage of having a mutable keyword is of that, in the end, the programmer decides which data members can be modified and which data members can't. But that might as well be a disadvantage: having the keyword mutable around prevents us from making assumptions about the stability of const objects. For one's own classes the advantage might outweight the disadvantage, but when classes are used which are developed elsewhere (like the classes of the Qt Graphical User Interface Toolkit (see http://www.trolltech.com)), using a mutable keyword might be more of a disadvantage than an advantage (I stress, however that I'm not suggesting here that the keyword mutable is used in Qt's sources). The least one should do when classes are developed which are intended to be used by others is to document the use of the mutable keyword very clearly to the potential users of the class.

Personally I think the use of the mutable keyword is best avoided altogether.