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In the last chapter we had some problems dealing with numbers that were not integers. We worked around the problem by measuring percentages instead of fractions, but a more general solution is to use floating-point numbers, which can represent fractions as well as integers. In C++, there are two floating-point types, called float and double. In this book we will use doubles exclusively.
You can create floating-point variables and assign values to them using the same syntax we used for the other types. For example:
double pi;It is also legal to declare a variable and assign a value to it at the same time:
int x = 1;In fact, this syntax is quite common. A combined declaration and assignment is sometimes called an initialization.
Although floating-point numbers are useful, they are often a source of confusion because there seems to be an overlap between integers and floating-point numbers. For example, if you have the value 1, is that an integer, a floating-point number, or both?
Strictly speaking, C++ distinguishes the integer value 1 from the floating-point value 1.0, even though they seem to be the same number. They belong to different types, and strictly speaking, you are not allowed to make assignments between types. For example, the following is illegal
int x = 1.1;because the variable on the left is an int and the value on the right is a double. But it is easy to forget this rule, especially because there are places where C++ automatically converts from one type to another. For example,
double y = 1;should technically not be legal, but C++ allows it by converting the int to a double automatically. This leniency is convenient, but it can cause problems; for example:
double y = 1 / 3;You might expect the variable y to be given the value 0.333333, which is a legal floating-point value, but in fact it will get the value 0.0. The reason is that the expression on the right appears to be the ratio of two integers, so C++ does integer division, which yields the integer value 0. Converted to floating-point, the result is 0.0.
One way to solve this problem (once you figure out what it is) is to make the right-hand side a floating-point expression:
double y = 1.0 / 3.0;This sets y to 0.333333, as expected.
All the operations we have seen---addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division---work on floating-point values, although you might be interested to know that the underlying mechanism is completely different. In fact, most processors have special hardware just for performing floating-point operations.
As I mentioned, C++ converts ints to doubles automatically if necessary, because no information is lost in the translation. On the other hand, going from a double to an int requires rounding off. C++ doesn't perform this operation automatically, in order to make sure that you, as the programmer, are aware of the loss of the fractional part of the number.
The simplest way to convert a floating-point value to an integer is to use a typecast. Typecasting is so called because it allows you to take a value that belongs to one type and "cast" it into another type (in the sense of molding or reforming, not throwing).
The syntax for typecasting is like the syntax for a function call. For example:
double pi = 3.14159;The int function returns an integer, so x gets the value 3. Converting to an integer always rounds down, even if the fraction part is 0.99999999.
For every type in C++, there is a corresponding function that typecasts its argument to the appropriate type.
In mathematics, you have probably seen functions like sin and log, and you have learned to evaluate expressions like sin(pi/2) and log(1/x). First, you evaluate the expression in parentheses, which is called the argument of the function. For example, pi/2 is approximately 1.571, and 1/x is 0.1 (if x happens to be 10).
Then you can evaluate the function itself, either by looking it up in a table or by performing various computations. The sin of 1.571 is 1, and the log of 0.1 is -1 (assuming that log indicates the logarithm base 10).
This process can be applied repeatedly to evaluate more complicated expressions like log(1/sin(pi/2)). First we evaluate the argument of the innermost function, then evaluate the function, and so on.
C++ provides a set of built-in functions that includes most of the mathematical operations you can think of. The math functions are invoked using a syntax that is similar to mathematical notation:
double log = log (17.0);The first example sets log to the logarithm of 17, base e. There is also a function called log10 that takes logarithms base 10.
The second example finds the sine of the value of the variable angle. C++ assumes that the values you use with sin and the other trigonometric functions (cos, tan) are in radians. To convert from degrees to radians, you can divide by 360 and multiply by 2 pi.
If you don't happen to know pi to 15 digits, you can calculate it using the acos function. The arccosine (or inverse cosine) of -1 is pi, because the cosine of pi is -1.
double pi = acos(-1.0);Before you can use any of the math functions, you have to include the math header file. Header files contain information the compiler needs about functions that are defined outside your program. For example, in the "Hello, world!" program we included a header file named iostream.h using an include statement:
#include <iostream.h>iostream.h contains information about input and output (I/O) streams, including the object named cout.
Similarly, the math header file contains information about the math functions. You can include it at the beginning of your program along with iostream.h:
#include <math.h>Just as with mathematical functions, C++ functions can be composed, meaning that you use one expression as part of another. For example, you can use any expression as an argument to a function:
double x = cos (angle + pi/2);This statement takes the value of pi, divides it by two and adds the result to the value of angle. The sum is then passed as an argument to the cos function.
You can also take the result of one function and pass it as an argument to another:
double x = exp (log (10.0));This statement finds the log base e of 10 and then raises e to that power. The result gets assigned to x; I hope you know what it is.
So far we have only been using the functions that are built into C++, but it is also possible to add new functions. Actually, we have already seen one function definition: main. The function named main is special because it indicates where the execution of the program begins, but the syntax for main is the same as for any other function definition:
void NAME ( LIST OF PARAMETERS ) {You can make up any name you want for your function, except that you can't call it main or any other C++ keyword. The list of parameters specifies what information, if any, you have to provide in order to use (or call) the new function.
main doesn't take any parameters, as indicated by the empty parentheses () in it's definition. The first couple of functions we are going to write also have no parameters, so the syntax looks like this:
void newLine () {This function is named newLine; it contains only a single statement, which outputs a newline character, represented by the special value endl.
In main we can call this new function using syntax that is similar to the way we call the built-in C++ commands:
void main ()The output of this program is
First line.Notice the extra space between the two lines. What if we wanted more space between the lines? We could call the same function repeatedly:
void main ()Or we could write a new function, named threeLine, that prints three new lines:
void threeLine ()You should notice a few things about this program:
So far, it may not be clear why it is worth the trouble to create all these new functions. Actually, there are a lot of reasons, but this example only demonstrates two:
Pulling together all the code fragments from the previous section, the whole program looks like this:
#include <iostream.h>This program contains three function definitions: newLine, threeLine, and main.
Inside the definition of main, there is a statement that uses or calls threeLine. Similarly, threeLine calls newLine three times. Notice that the definition of each function appears above the place where it is used.
This is necessary in C++; the definition of a function must appear before (above) the first use of the function. You should try compiling this program with the functions in a different order and see what error messages you get.
When you look at a class definition that contains several functions, it is tempting to read it from top to bottom, but that is likely to be confusing, because that is not the order of execution of the program.
Execution always begins at the first statement of main, regardless of where it is in the program (often it is at the bottom). Statements are executed one at a time, in order, until you reach a function call. Function calls are like a detour in the flow of execution. Instead of going to the next statement, you go to the first line of the called function, execute all the statements there, and then come back and pick up again where you left off.
That sounds simple enough, except that you have to remember that one function can call another. Thus, while we are in the middle of main, we might have to go off and execute the statements in threeLine. But while we are executing threeLine, we get interrupted three times to go off and execute newLine.
Fortunately, C++ is adept at keeping track of where it is, so each time newLine completes, the program picks up where it left off in threeLine, and eventually gets back to main so the program can terminate.
What's the moral of this sordid tale? When you read a program, don't read from top to bottom. Instead, follow the flow of execution.
Some of the built-in functions we have used have parameters, which are values that you provide to let the function do its job. For example, if you want to find the sine of a number, you have to indicate what the number is. Thus, sin takes a double value as a parameter.
Some functions take more than one parameter, like pow, which takes two doubles, the base and the exponent.
Notice that in each of these cases we have to specify not only how many parameters there are, but also what type they are. So it shouldn't surprise you that when you write a class definition, the parameter list indicates the type of each parameter. For example:
void printTwice (char phil) {This function takes a single parameter, named phil, that has type char. Whatever that parameter is (and at this point we have no idea what it is), it gets printed twice, followed by a newline. I chose the name phil to suggest that the name you give a parameter is up to you, but in general you want to choose something more illustrative than phil.
In order to call this function, we have to provide a char. For example, we might have a main function like this:
void main () {The char value you provide is called an argument, and we say that the argument is passed to the function. In this case the value 'a' is passed as an argument to printTwice where it will get printed twice.
Alternatively, if we had a char variable, we could use it as an argument instead:
void main () {Notice something very important here: the name of the variable we pass as an argument (argument) has nothing to do with the name of the parameter (phil). Let me say that again:
The name of the variable we pass as an argument has nothing to do with the name of the parameter.
They can be the same or they can be different, but it is important to realize that they are not the same thing, except that they happen to have the same value (in this case the character 'b').
The value you provide as an argument must have the same type as the parameter of the function you call. This rule is important, but it is sometimes confusing because C++ sometimes converts arguments from one type to another automatically. For now you should learn the general rule, and we will deal with exceptions later.
Parameters and variables only exist inside their own functions. Within the confines of main, there is no such thing as phil. If you try to use it, the compiler will complain. Similarly, inside printTwice there is no such thing as argument.
Variables like this are said to be local. In order to keep track of parameters and local variables, it is useful to draw a stack diagram. Like state diagrams, stack diagrams show the value of each variable, but the variables are contained in larger boxes that indicate which function they belong to.
For example, the state diagram for printTwice looks like this:
Whenever a function is called, it creates a new instance of that function. Each instance of a function contains the parameters and local variables for that function. In the diagram an instance of a function is represented by a box with the name of the function on the outside and the variables and parameters inside.
In the example, main has one local variable, argument, and no parameters. printTwice has no local variables and one parameter, named phil.
The syntax for declaring and invoking functions with multiple parameters is a common source of errors. First, remember that you have to declare the type of every parameter. For example
void printTime (int hour, int minute) {It might be tempting to write (int hour, minute), but that format is only legal for variable declarations, not for parameters.
Another common source of confusion is that you do not have to declare the types of arguments. The following is wrong!
int hour = 11;In this case, the compiler can tell the type of hour and minute by looking at their declarations. It is unnecessary and illegal to include the type when you pass them as arguments. The correct syntax is printTime (hour, minute).
You might have noticed by now that some of the functions we are using, like the math functions, yield results. Other functions, like newLine, perform an action but don't return a value. That raises some questions:
The answer to the third question is "yes, you can write functions that return values," and we'll do it in a couple of chapters. I will leave it up to you to answer the other two questions by trying them out. Any time you have a question about what is legal or illegal in C++, a good way to find out is to ask the compiler.
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