CSC134 OOP in C++ - Vocabulary

Vocabulary

function definition: the statements that include the function header and body define what the function will do when it is executed; also includes the function header
function declaration/function prototype: statement that indicates the name, return type, and parameters of a function; it is required if the function is called in a statement that appears before the function definition
function header: the first statement in a function definition; specifies the name of the function, its return type, and formal parameters
function call: statement that invokes a function; causes the function to be executed at that point in the program
formal parameter/formal argument: parameter in the function header
actual parameter/actual argument: parameter in the function call
class implementation: the definitions of the member functions
class definition: the statements that indicate the class name, declare the data members, and declare the member functions of the class
instance of a class: an object of the class type
instantiation: the process of creating an object of a class type
client code: the code that instantiates and manipulates one or more objects of a class type
invoking object: the object used in the call to a member function; data members used in the code of the member function refer to the data members of the invoking object
data member/field: a variable declared in a class definition
member function/method: a function that is declared inside a class
global function: a function that is not part of any class
scope resolution operator ::: used to indicate the scope to which the operand belongs; can used with the class name in a function header to specify that the function is a member of that class
access specifier: specifies whether functions which are not class members can refer to a class member
private: a private class member can only be used in a member function of that class
public: a public class member can be used in any function in the program
constructor: special member function that has the same name as the class and no return type; is automatically called when an object is instantiated; can be used to initialize the object
default constructor: a constructor that requires no actual parameters
copy constructor: a constructor that has an object of the class (passed by reference) as the parameter; used to initialize an object of a class to the value contained in an existing object of the same class
default argument: a function parameter that has a default value specified; if this parameter is not passed in a call to the function, the default value will be used for the parameter
mandatory argument: a function parameter that has no default value specified; when the function is called a value must be passed for this parameter
accessor function: a member function that uses data members but does not modify them
mutator function: a member function that modifies one or more data members
containment/composition/composite class: refers to the situation when a data member of one class is of some other class type