Cpp - Constructor and Destructor

Constructor

Classes have a special member function called a constructor.

It is called when an object of the class is instantiated.

The constructor creates a valid object of the class, which often includes initializing its member data.

The constructor is a function with the same name as the class but no return value.

Constructors may or may not have parameters.

Here's a constructor for the Cart class:

Cart::Cart(int initialSpeed) 
{ 
    setSpeed(initialSpeed); 
} 

This constructor sets the initial value of the speed member variable using a parameter.

Destructor

Destructors clean up after objects and free any memory that was allocated for them.

A destructor always has the name of the class preceded by a tilde ~.

Destructors take no parameters and have no return value. Here's a Cart destructor:

Cart::~Cart() 
{ 
    // do nothing 
} 

Related Topics

Exercise