This is an intermediate conversion course for C++, suitable for second year computing students who may have learned Java or another language in first year.

1. SUMMATION
Michael Heron

2. Introduction
• We have reached the end of our journey through object
orientation in C++
• Huzzah, hooray, etc, etc
• As the last lecture on the topic, we are going to recap on
all the significant theoretical concepts.
• Not rehash, just recap.
• This knowledge will Guide You Well when it comes to the
exam.
• These are things you are expected to know!

3. The Principles of OO
• OO is based primarily on three key principles.
• Inheritance
• Encapsulation
• Polymorphism.
• Together they form a mighty triad of techniques for
building genuinely powerful programs.
• These three together is why it is a fundamentally different style
from structured programming.

4. The Principles of OO
• Object oriented structures are not inherently scalable.
• You need to be careful with what you do.
• Metrics such as coupling and cohesion give a view of the
objective quality of a class hierarchy.
• Methods such as impact of change give a view of the
maintainability of a system.

5. Why OO?
• Why do we code using objects?
• Easier for humans to understand?
• No.
• More efficient?
• No
• More maintainable
• Yes
• More expandable
• Yes
• Reusable
• Kinda
• Powerful?
• Very much so.

6. Inheritance
• The process of inheritance is to assume the methods and
attributes of another class.
• Modified by the visibility of those methods and parameters.
• Java permits single inheritance only.
• As does C#
• C++ permits multiple inheritance.
• There be dragons.
• Only one genuinely good thing comes from multiple inheritance in
C++

7. Encapsulation
• Encapsulation is the process of bundling the attributes of
a class along with the methods that act upon those
attributes.
• Goes hand in hand with the topic of information hiding.
• Should ensure a separation of abstraction and
implementation.
• Access to functionality available only through predefined interfaces.

8. Polymorphism
• The most abstract of the three.
• It’s the technique of treating a specialised class as an instance of a
more general class.
• Significant differences between C++ and Java here.
• All methods in java are inherently virtual.
• In C++, method virtuality must be declared as part of the class
definition.
• Only virtual methods will be called as the most specialised
version.

9. Overloading and Overriding
• Object orientation is about providing a consistent interface
to an object.
• There are various techniques that allow us to do this.
• Three key ways in which this is done in C++
• Method overloading
• Method overriding
• Operator overloading
• The last is not available in Java
• Which is a good thing.

10. Method Overloading
• Process used to permit multiple interfaces to a single
method.
• Don’t need to learn two sets of methods
• One method with two sets of parameters.
• Reduces the cognitive burden on using an object.
• Ensures consistency across an interface.
• Can be overdone.

11. Method Overriding
• Method Overriding is the process of providing a
specialised implementation of a single method.
• Incorporated strongly into polymorphism and inheritance.
• Works through the use of virtual methods in C++
• In Java, all methods are implicitly virtual.

12. Operator Overloading
• C++ permits for operators to be overloaded.
• Change the way the basic + and – operators work on objects.
• Leads easily to code obfuscation.
• Need to understand not only the objects, but how and where they can
be applied to base operators.
• Handled using overridden methods in Java.
• A more elegant approach for a more civilized age.

13. Abstraction
• Abstraction is a key element in programming.
• It’s the process of getting rid of the low level details to focus on the
high level interactions.
• Is both conceptual and technical as a term.
• Abstraction is a general process
• Abstract classes are a specific kind of abstraction in object oriented
programs.
• Understanding the flow of execution through a class hierarchy
requires understanding of abstraction.

14. Abstract Classes
• Abstract classes cannot be instantiated.
• They can only serve as the basis for other derived classes.
• They can enforce a polymorphic contract with the compiler.
• A class in Java is made abstract via a special keyword.
• A class in C++ is made abstract by the inclusion of a pure
virtual method

15. Pure Virtual Methods
• A virtual method in C++ may be over-riden if the
developer desires.
• A pure virtual method must be over-ridden.
• Classes which incorporate no code and only pure virtual
methods can be used as interfaces.
• Java has a special keyword for this too.
• Only good use of multiple inheritance.

16. Templates
• Abstraction as a concept leads into the concrete
implementation of templates.
• Boilerplate code
• Code is generated by the compiler based on typing information.
• Templates are a powerful tool
• Used to good effect in the Standard Template Library.
• A library of C++ classes for everyone to use.

17. STL
• The Standard Template Library contains implementations
of:
• Sequential containers
• Adapter containers
• Associative containers
• Worthwhile exercise to write these structures from
scratch.
• Understanding gained by doing this.
• Worth using the STL structures for ‘live’ code.

18. Stream Based I/O
• I/O in C++ based primarily on streams.
• Polymorphism allows for the same basic operators to work on file
and keyboard/monitor I/O
• I/O operations quite flexible.
• You can modify the presentation quite a bit.
• However, object representation in files remains complex.
• Serialization is the process used, and not natively supported in
C++.

19. Static
• Static methods in object oriented languages are class
methods.
• They belong to a class, not to an instance.
• Static attributes in object oriented languages are class
attributes.
• All objects share the same data field for this.
• Static methods are limited.
• Can only call on other static methods or attributes.

20. Const
• The const modifier in C++ is used to specify different
behaviour depending on where it is used.
• Can specify a constant value
• Can specific an unchangeable value
• Can specify a method that cannot change instance attributes.
• Indiscriminate use of const usually a sign of bad design.

21. Moving On
• Where do you go… from here?
• Anywhere you like.
• The knowledge of C++ you have gained during this
module is transferable.
• You’ll find related concepts in any real OO language.
• We have spoken quite a bit about how the concepts relate to Java.
• They relate just as well in C#

22. But… why?
• All of these concepts are complicated by the nature of
pointers.
• Pointers are the secret engine behind C++
• C++ is a complicated language because it layers pointer
troubles on top of conceptual troubles.
• Why do this module in C++?
• Several reasons.

23. C++ in Industry
• C++ remains one of the most popular languages in
industry.
• It’s not the most popular, but you’ll encounter it often in Real Life.
• People who can code in C++ or C are a dying breed.
• ‘Too complicated’
• However, you learn things in C++ you don’t in other
languages.

24. C++ The Language
• Even if you never create another pointer, simply
understanding how they work opens up a world that other
languages hide.
• C++ more than any other language requires you to understand the
implications of what you are doing.
• This is an important mental skill.
• It’s not just about the code.
• It’s about the concepts.

25. Memory Management
• C++ has explicit memory management.
• No inherent, automated
• garbage collection as in Java
• We must manually handler pointers and dynamic memory
ourselves.
• This has implications for our design.
• Copy constructors
• Overloaded assignment operators
• Destructors
• Learning to do this is a good mental exercise.
• Albeit frustrating.

26. Next Week
• Next week is your consolidation week.
• Use the time wisely, young padawans. Padawen? Padawii?
• The lab will be staffed as always.
• Only two contact hours for the scheduled lecture time.
• Lab prep on Monday.
• Q&A about your current assessment.
• Bring questions about the assessment if you have any.
• Drop in tutorial on Thursday
• Come along if you have any questions relating to OO concepts.
• No planned content otherwise.

27. Summary
• Our discussion of OO in C++ is at an end.
• Alas, alas
• Next week is the consolidation week.
• Finish up what you’re working with.
• The week after you’ll be learning about data structures with
Manuel.
• These build on the concepts we have discussed over the past few
weeks.
• Have fun!
• Snausages.