Exploring C++20: The Programmer's Introduction to C++

© Ray Lischner 2020

R. LischnerExploring C++20https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-5961-0_40

40. Classes and Types

Ray Lischner¹ 

(1)

Ellicott City, MD, USA

 

One of the main design goals for C++ was to give the programmer the ability to define custom types that look and act nearly identically to the built-in types. The combination of classes and overloaded operators gives you that power. This Exploration takes a closer look at the type system and how your classes can best fit into the C++ world.

Classes vs. typedefs

Suppose you are writing a function to compute Bogus Metabolic Index (BMI) from an integer height in centimeters and an integer weight in kilograms. You have no difficulty writing such a function (which you can copy from your work in Explorations ...