C++ For Dummies, 7th Edition

Chapter 6

Creating Functions

In This Chapter

Writing functions

Passing data to functions

Naming functions with different arguments

Creating function prototypes

Passing by value versus passing by reference

Providing default values for arguments

The programs developed in prior chapters have been small enough that they can be easily read as a single unit. Larger, real-world programs are often many thousands if not millions of lines long. Developers need to break up these monster programs into smaller chunks that are easier to conceive, describe, develop, and maintain.

C++ allows programmers to divide their code into just such chunks known as functions. A function is a small block of code that can be executed as a single entity. This allows the programmer to divide her program into a number of such entities, each that implements some well-defined subset of the overall program. Functions ...