Question

Consider the following declaration: class strange a. Write a statement that shows the declaration in the class strange to overload the operator >>. b. Write a statement that shows the declaration in the class strange to overload the operator =. c. Write a statement that shows the declaration in the class strange to overload the binary operator + as a member function. d. Write a statement that shows the declaration in the class strange to overload the operator == as a member function. e. Write a statement that shows the declaration in the class strange to overload the post-increment operator ++ as a member function

Short answer

Use friend for `>>`, member functions for `=`, `+`, `==`, and `++`. Each requires a different method signature.

Step-by-step solution

Declaring the Overload for Operator >>

To overload the operator `>>` for the `strange` class, it must be declared as a friend function since it's generally used for input streaming. The statement is: ```cpp friend std::istream& operator>>(std::istream& in, strange& obj); ```

Declaring the Overload for Operator =

Operator `=` is overloaded as a member function when you want to handle assignment correctly, ensuring proper deep copy or resource management if needed. The declaration is: ```cpp strange& operator=(const strange& other); ```

Declaring the Overload for Operator +

The binary operator `+` as a member function should be overloaded to perform addition between two `strange` objects. The declaration is: ```cpp strange operator+(const strange& other) const; ```

Declaring the Overload for Operator ==

To overload the equality operator `==` as a member function for the `strange` class, you must declare it to compare two `strange` objects for equality. The statement is: ```cpp bool operator==(const strange& other) const; ```

Declaring the Overload for Post-Increment Operator ++

The post-increment operator `++` is overloaded to define the behavior of incrementing an object of the `strange` class. This operator is usually defined with a dummy integer parameter to differentiate it from the pre-increment. The declaration is: ```cpp strange operator++(int); ```

Key concepts

C++ Classes

C++ classes are a cornerstone of object-oriented programming. They allow you to bundle data and functions that operate on data, within a single unit called an object. This encapsulation offers several advantages:

• You can hide implementation details of an application.
• It promotes data protection and avoids inadvertent manipulations.
• The class members can be accessed based on their access specifiers like public, private, and protected.

Creating a class starts with the "class" keyword followed by the class name. For instance:\[\text{class Strange}\\text{// class body}\\]Attributes (or data members) and behaviors (or member functions) are defined inside the class body. With operator overloading, you can redefine or "overload" operators to work with user-defined data types like classes. This makes classes even more versatile by allowing custom operations on class objects.

Friend Functions

Friend functions offer a powerful way to extend the functionality of classes. Normally, class members are called via an object or a pointer of the class type. However, some operations, like input streaming, might need access to private and protected data members without being a part of the class. That's where friend functions come in.

• Friend functions are defined outside of a class but are granted access to the class's private and protected members.
• You declare a friend function inside the class using the 'friend' keyword.

Here's how you might declare a friend function to overload the output operator for a class:\[\text{friend std::istream& operator>>(std::istream& in, strange& obj);}\]Using friend functions judiciously is key, as they can break encapsulation principles by accessing class internals directly.

Member Functions

Member functions in C++ are functions defined inside a class that operate on the objects of that class. They have access to private and protected members of the class, acting as the bridge between data encapsulation and functionality.When you overload operators as member functions, you allow specific object behavior to be established when those operators are used. This is how it's often done:

• Place the operator keyword followed by the operator symbol and parameters inside the class block.
• They can access data directly, as they're part of the class.

For example, the assignment operator can be overloaded like this:\[\text{strange& operator=(const strange& other);}\]Member functions allow an intuitive use of operators, providing a more natural coding interface when dealing with custom objects.

Binary Operators

Binary operators require two operands, which makes them suitable for operations like addition or equality checks between objects. In the context of classes, overloading a binary operator allows you to define precisely how such operations should behave for instances of your class.Here's how it usually works:

• The overloading of binary operators can be done as either member functions or friend functions.
• If class member data needs to be accessed directly, they are often implemented as member functions.

For example, to overload the `+` operator in a class, you might utilize a member function like so:\[\text{strange operator+(const strange& other) const;}\]And for the equality operator, it could look like this:\[\text{bool operator==(const strange& other) const;}\]Using binary operators with class objects enhances code readability and usability, mimicking the use of built-in types.