4.1. Defining C++ Functions¶

In general, we can hide the details of any computation by defining a function. A function definition requires a name, a group of parameters, a return type, and a body. It may either return a variable, value, or nothing (specified by the keyword void). For example, the simple function defined below returns an integer which is the double of the value you pass into it.

#include <iostream> using namespace std; int timesTwo(int num) { /* return type int which indicates that an integer is being returned */ return num*2; } int main() { /* return type int which indicates that an integer is being returned */ cout<<timesTwo(5)<<endl; return 0; }

The syntax for this function definition includes the name, timesTwo, and a parenthesized list of formal parameters and their types. For this function an int named num is the only formal parameter, which suggests that timesTwo needs only one piece of data to do its work. The details, hidden “inside the box,” simply compute the result of num*2 and return it. We can invoke or call the timesTwo function by asking the C++ to evaluate it, passing an actual parameter value, in this case, 3. Note that the call to timesTwo returns an integer that can in turn be passed to another invocation.

Let us look at a similar function.

#include <iostream> using namespace std; void timesTwoVoid(int num) { /* return type void which indicates that an nothing is being returned */ cout<< num*2<<endl; } int main() { /* return type int which indicates that an integer is being returned */ timesTwoVoid(5); return 0; }

timesTwoVoid behave very similarly to timesTwo. However, there is one key difference between them. Instead of the int in timesTwo, timesTwoVoid has a void in front of its function definition. Unlike timesTwo, timesTwoVoid is a non-fruitful function meaning it does not return a value even though it can still print something out.

We could go a step further and implement our own square root function by using a well-known technique called “Newton’s Method.” Newton’s Method for approximating square roots performs an iterative computation that converges on the correct value. The equation \(newguess = \frac {1}{2} * (oldguess + \frac {n}{oldguess})\) takes a value \(n\) and repeatedly guesses the square root by making each \(newguess\) the \(oldguess\) in the subsequent iteration. The initial guess used here is \(\frac {n}{2}\). Listing 1 shows a function definition that accepts a value \(n\) and returns the square root of \(n\) after making 20 guesses. Again, the details of Newton’s Method are hidden inside the function definition and the user does not have to know anything about the implementation to use the function for its intended purpose. Listing 1 also shows the use of the // characters as a comment marker. Any characters that follow the // on a line are ignored.

Listing 1

4.2. Parameter Passing: by Value versus by Reference¶

In all of the functions we have written thus far, we have used a function calling mechanism called pass by value. Calling a function by value involves copying the contents of the arguments into the memory locations of the corresponding formal parameters. If the function changes the values of the parameters, the original contents in the memory referenced by the arguments of the calling function do not change.

Consider the following two function definitions:

void functionExample( int inputVar ) { /*return type void which indicates that
                                         nothing is being returned*/
    int nextVar = inputVar * 2;
    inputVar = 4;

    cout << "nextVar = " << nextVar << " inputVar = " << inputVar;
}

void callingFunction() { /*return type int which indicates
                             that nothing is being returned*/
    int myVar = 10;

    functionExample( myVar );
    cout << "myVar = " << myVar;
}

When the function callingFunction() executes, it calls functionExample(...) with the variable myVar having the value 10. Within functionExample(...), the value of 10 is copied from myVar to the formal parameter inputVar, so the value of nextVar is 10x2, or 20. The next statement changes the contents of inputVar to 4, so the cout statement within this function produces the output:

nextVar = 20 inputVar = 4

Notice what happens when functionExample(...) ends and execution returns to callingFunction(). The contents of myVar is still the same, as the location for myVar differs from where inputVar is stored. Thus, myVar still has the value 10, and the cout statement after the function call will produce the output:

myVar = 10

In other words, any changes to the variables are local to the function, which is exactly what we want.

However, there is a problem.

We have seen examples of C++ functions that return no value or a single value. How about when we want the function to return more than one value? We need another function calling mechanism called pass by reference. When using this mechanism, the actual location in memory referenced by the arguments are sent rather than the values in that location. To let the compiler know that you intend to use pass by reference, you attach an “&” to the end of the type name in the formal parameter list in the function declaration and header. When you do this, any changes to the values of the parameters will change the value of the arguments as well.

An example of a function where this is useful is a function that takes two values as input and swaps their order. Consider the following program fragment of a function called swap_values(...) that swaps its two inputs and the main() function that calls swap_values(...).

#include <iostream> using namespace std; // swap_values() function definition // Interchanges the values located by variable1 and variable2. void swap_values(int &variable1, int &variable2); // Notice that this function does not return anything! void swap_values(int &variable1, int &variable2) { int temp; // temporary storage for swap temp = variable1; variable1 = variable2; variable2 = temp; } int main( ) { int first_num, second_num; first_num = 7; second_num = 8; cout << "Two numbers before swap function: 1) " << first_num << " 2) " << second_num << endl; swap_values(first_num, second_num); cout << "The numbers after swap function: 1) " << first_num << " 2) " << second_num; return 0; }

For this program Swap Inputs to reverse the order of the integers the users types in, the function swap_values(...) must be able to change the values of the arguments. Try removing one or both of the “&” ‘s in this code to see what happens.

4.3. Arrays as Parameters in Functions¶

An array is a collection data type that is the ancestor of the Python list. We will discuss arrays in more detail in the next chapter. Functions can be used with array parameters to maintain a structured design. However, a formal parameter for an array is neither a call-by-value nor a call-by-reference, but a new type of parameter pass called an array parameter. In a function definition, an array parameter looks like a pass-by-value parameter because there is no ampersand symbol (&), but the variable name is instead followed by a set of square brackets ([ and ]).

The following example function returns the average hours worked over the array of integers (note that we need to also pass in the number of elements in that array because the array parameter list[] does not include that information):

double average( int list[], int length ) {  // It is correct     syntax to omit the array length on the array itself.
    double total = 0;                       //return type double which indicates that a decimal is being returned
    int count;
    for( count = 0; count < length; count++ )
        total += double(list[count]);
    return (total / length);
}

Array parameters look like pass by value, but they are effectively like call by reference parameters. When they execute, the functions with these parameters do not make private copies of the arrays they are passed because doing so this could potentially be very expensive in terms of memory. Arrays can therefore always be permanently changed when passed as arguments to functions.

After a call to the following function, each element in the third array argument is equal to the sum of the corresponding two elements in the first and second arguments:

void add_lists( int first[], int second[], int total[], int length ) { //return type int which indicates that nothing is returned
    int count;
    for( count = 0; count < length; count++ )
        total[count] = first[count] + second[count];
}

Upon further examination, we can see that the first two arrays do not change values. To prevent ourselves from accidentally modifying any of these arrays, we can add the modifier const in the function head:

void add_lists( const int first[], const int second[], int total[], int length ) { //return type int which indicates that nothing is returned
    int count;
    for( count = 0; count < length; count++ )
        total[count] = first[count] + second[count];
}

These changes would ensure that the compiler will then not accept any statements within the function’s definition that potentially modify the elements of the arrays first or second.

4.4. Function Overloading¶

Function overloading is the ability to create multiple functions with identical names but different implementations. Not all languages support function overloading. Python does not, for example.

In C++ programming, two or more functions can have same name when they can be distinguished by the parameters. Hence, C++ allows function overloading when either the data types of the parameters differ or the number of parameters differ.

Overloading is a nice feature of the C++ language. Python does not offer function overloading, so accomplishing the same task in Python requires a different technique.

See the following example where an optional parameter is used to accomplish the same task.