Data Structures and Algorithms in C++, Second Edition

Chapter 2. Object-Oriented Design

Contents

2.1 Goals, Principles, and Patterns	66
2.1.1 Object-Oriented Design Goals	66
2.1.2 Object-Oriented Design Principles	67
2.1.3 Design Patterns	70
2.2 Inheritance and Polymorphism	71
2.2.1 Inheritance in C++	71
2.2.2 Polymorphism	78
2.2.3 Examples of Inheritance in C++	79
2.2.4 Multiple Inheritance and Class Casting	84
2.2.5 Interfaces and Abstract Classes	87
2.3 Templates	90
2.3.1 Function Templates	90
2.3.2 Class Templates	91
2.4 Exceptions	93
2.4.1 Exception Objects	93
2.4.2 Throwing and Catching Exceptions	94
2.4.3 Exception Specification	96
2.5 Exercises	98

Goals, Principles, and Patterns

As the name implies, the main "actors" in the object-oriented design paradigm are called objects. An object comes from a class, which is a specification of the data members that the object contains, as well as the member functions (also called methods or operations) that the object can execute. Each class presents to the outside world a concise and consistent view of the objects that are instances of this class, without going into too much unnecessary detail or giving others access to the inner workings of the objects. This view of computing is intended to fulfill several goals and incorporate several design principles, which we discuss in this chapter.

Object-Oriented Design Goals

Software implementations should achieve robustness, adaptability, and reusability. (See Figure 2.1.)

Figure 2.1. Goals ...