Learning to Program in C++

Pay Some Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

In C++, a user defined variable is called an object. Each object has a type, just like variables of native types (short, char, etc.). For example, if we define a class called StockItem (as we will do in this chapter), then an object can be of type StockItem, just as a native variable can be of type short. However, an additional step is required when we want to use user defined types. Since the compiler has no intrinsic knowledge of these types, we have to tell it exactly what they are and how they work. We do this by defining a class, which specifies both the data contained in the user defined variable and what operations can be performed on these data.

Here's how Susan reacted upon her first ...