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Lecture

Blocks, Functions and References

In course

MATH-458: Programming concepts in scientific computing

The aim of this course is to provide the background in scientific computing. The class includes a brief introduction to basic programming in c++, it then focuses on object-oriented programming and c++ specific programming techniques. Typical class hierarch ...

Description

This lecture covers the concepts of blocks, functions, and references in C++. It explains the scope of variables within blocks, the difference between local and global variables, and the usage of functions with examples. It also delves into the concept of interfaces, header files, and the importance of distinguishing between function usage and implementation. Additionally, it discusses returning arrays and matrices from functions, input with pointers, default parameter values, polymorphism, recursive functions, and pointers to functions. The lecture concludes with a detailed explanation of references and their practical syntax in C++, highlighting their differences from pointers.

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Instructor

Guillaume Anciaux

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Theoretical computer science

Programming language theory: High-level programming languages

Related concepts (32)

Pointer (computer programming)

In computer science, a pointer is an object in many programming languages that stores a memory address. This can be that of another value located in computer memory, or in some cases, that of memory-mapped computer hardware. A pointer references a location in memory, and obtaining the value stored at that location is known as dereferencing the pointer. As an analogy, a page number in a book's index could be considered a pointer to the corresponding page; dereferencing such a pointer would be done by flipping to the page with the given page number and reading the text found on that page.

Function pointer

A function pointer, also called a subroutine pointer or procedure pointer, is a pointer referencing executable code, rather than data. Dereferencing the function pointer yields the referenced function, which can be invoked and passed arguments just as in a normal function call. Such an invocation is also known as an "indirect" call, because the function is being invoked indirectly through a variable instead of directly through a fixed identifier or address. Function pointers allow different code to be executed at runtime.

Smart pointer

In computer science, a smart pointer is an abstract data type that simulates a pointer while providing added features, such as automatic memory management or bounds checking. Such features are intended to reduce bugs caused by the misuse of pointers, while retaining efficiency. Smart pointers typically keep track of the memory they point to, and may also be used to manage other resources, such as network connections and file handles.

Null pointer

In computing, a null pointer or null reference is a value saved for indicating that the pointer or reference does not refer to a valid object. Programs routinely use null pointers to represent conditions such as the end of a list of unknown length or the failure to perform some action; this use of null pointers can be compared to nullable types and to the Nothing value in an option type. A null pointer should not be confused with an uninitialized pointer: a null pointer is guaranteed to compare unequal to any pointer that points to a valid object.

Jacobi elliptic functions

In mathematics, the Jacobi elliptic functions are a set of basic elliptic functions. They are found in the description of the motion of a pendulum (see also pendulum (mathematics)), as well as in the design of electronic elliptic filters. While trigonometric functions are defined with reference to a circle, the Jacobi elliptic functions are a generalization which refer to other conic sections, the ellipse in particular. The relation to trigonometric functions is contained in the notation, for example, by the matching notation for .

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