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C++ Questions
Note : All the programs are tested under Turbo C++ 3.0, 4.5 and Microsoft VC++ 6.0
compilers.
It is assumed that,
 Programs run under Windows environment,
 The underlying machine is an x86 based system,
 Program is compiled using Turbo C/C++ compiler.
The program output may depend on the information based on this assumptions
(for example sizeof(int) == 2 may be assumed).

1) class Sample
{
public:
int *ptr;
Sample(int i)
{
ptr = new int(i);
}
~Sample()
{
delete ptr;
}
void PrintVal()
{
cout << "The value is " << *ptr;
}
};
void SomeFunc(Sample x)
{
cout << "Say i am in someFunc " << endl;
}
int main()
{
Sample s1= 10;
SomeFunc(s1);
s1.PrintVal();
}
Answer:
Say i am in someFunc
Null pointer assignment(Run-time error)
Explanation:
As the object is passed by value to SomeFunc the destructor of the object is
called when the control returns from the function. So when PrintVal is called it meets

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up with ptr that has been freed.The solution is to pass the Sample object by
reference to SomeFunc:

void SomeFunc(Sample &x)

{
cout << "Say i am in someFunc " << endl;
}
because when we pass objects by refernece that object is not destroyed. while

returning from the function.

2) Which is the parameter that is added to every non-static member function when it
is called?
Answer:
‘this’ pointer

3) class base
{
public:
int bval;
base(){ bval=0;}
};

class deri:public base

{
public:
int dval;
deri(){ dval=1;}
};
void SomeFunc(base *arr,int size)
{
for(int i=0; i<size; i++,arr++)
cout<<arr->bval;
cout<<endl;
}

int main()
{
base BaseArr[5];
SomeFunc(BaseArr,5);
deri DeriArr[5];
SomeFunc(DeriArr,5);
}

Answer:

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00000
01010
Explanation:
The function SomeFunc expects two arguments.The first one is a pointer to an
array of base class objects and the second one is the sizeof the array.The first call of
someFunc calls it with an array of bae objects, so it works correctly and prints the
bval of all the objects. When Somefunc is called the second time the argument passed
is the pointeer to an array of derived class objects and not the array of base class
objects. But that is what the function expects to be sent. So the derived class pointer is
promoted to base class pointer and the address is sent to the function. SomeFunc()
knows nothing about this and just treats the pointer as an array of base class objects.
So when arr++ is met, the size of base class object is taken into consideration and is
incremented by sizeof(int) bytes for bval (the deri class objects have bval and dval as
members and so is of size >= sizeof(int)+sizeof(int) ).

4) class base
{
public:
void baseFun(){ cout<<"from base"<<endl;}
};
class deri:public base
{
public:
void baseFun(){ cout<< "from derived"<<endl;}
};
void SomeFunc(base *baseObj)
{
baseObj->baseFun();
}
int main()
{
base baseObject;
SomeFunc(&baseObject);
deri deriObject;
SomeFunc(&deriObject);
}
Answer:
from base
from base
Explanation:
As we have seen in the previous case, SomeFunc expects a pointer to a base
class. Since a pointer to a derived class object is passed, it treats the argument only as
a base class pointer and the corresponding base function is called.

5) class base
{

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public:
virtual void baseFun(){ cout<<"from base"<<endl;}
};
class deri:public base
{
public:
void baseFun(){ cout<< "from derived"<<endl;}
};
void SomeFunc(base *baseObj)
{
baseObj->baseFun();
}
int main()
{
base baseObject;
SomeFunc(&baseObject);
deri deriObject;
SomeFunc(&deriObject);
}
Answer:
from base
from derived
Explanation:
Remember that baseFunc is a virtual function. That means that it supports run-
time polymorphism. So the function corresponding to the derived class object is
called.

void main()
{
int a, *pa, &ra;
pa = &a;
ra = a;
cout <<"a="<<a <<"*pa="<<*pa <<"ra"<<ra ;
}
/*
Answer :
Compiler Error: 'ra',reference must be initialized
Explanation :
Pointers are different from references. One of the main
differences is that the pointers can be both initialized and assigned,
whereas references can only be initialized. So this code issues an error.
*/

const int size = 5;

void print(int *ptr)

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{
cout<<ptr[0];
}

void print(int ptr[size])

{
cout<<ptr[0];
}

void main()
{
int a[size] = {1,2,3,4,5};
int *b = new int(size);
print(a);
print(b);
}
/*
Answer:
Compiler Error : function 'void print(int *)' already has a body

Explanation:
Arrays cannot be passed to functions, only pointers (for arrays, base
addresses)
can be passed. So the arguments int *ptr and int prt[size] have no difference
as function arguments. In other words, both the functoins have the same signature and
so cannot be overloaded.
*/

class some{
public:
~some()
{
cout<<"some's destructor"<<endl;
}
};

void main()
{
some s;
s.~some();
}
/*
Answer:
some's destructor
some's destructor
Explanation:

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Destructors can be called explicitly. Here 's.~some()' explicitly calls the

destructor of 's'. When main() returns, destructor of s is called again,
hence the result.
*/

#include <iostream.h>

class fig2d
{
int dim1;
int dim2;

public:
fig2d() { dim1=5; dim2=6;}

virtual void operator<<(ostream & rhs);

};

void fig2d::operator<<(ostream &rhs)

{
rhs <<this->dim1<<" "<<this->dim2<<" ";
}

/*class fig3d : public fig2d

{
int dim3;
public:
fig3d() { dim3=7;}
virtual void operator<<(ostream &rhs);
};
void fig3d::operator<<(ostream &rhs)
{
fig2d::operator <<(rhs);
rhs<<this->dim3;
}
*/

void main()
{
fig2d obj1;
// fig3d obj2;

obj1 << cout;

// obj2 << cout;
}
/*

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Answer :
56
Explanation:
In this program, the << operator is overloaded with ostream as argument.
This enables the 'cout' to be present at the right-hand-side. Normally, 'cout'
is implemented as global function, but it doesn't mean that 'cout' is not possible
to be overloaded as member function.
Overloading << as virtual member function becomes handy when the class in
which
it is overloaded is inherited, and this becomes available to be overrided. This is as
opposed
to global friend functions, where friend's are not inherited.
*/

class opOverload{
public:
bool operator==(opOverload temp);
};

bool opOverload::operator==(opOverload temp){

if(*this == temp ){
cout<<"The both are same objects\n";
return true;
}
else{
cout<<"The both are different\n";
return false;
}
}

void main(){
opOverload a1, a2;
a1= =a2;
}

Answer :
Runtime Error: Stack Overflow
Explanation :
Just like normal functions, operator functions can be called recursively. This
program just illustrates that point, by calling the operator == function recursively,
leading to an infinite loop.

class complex{
double re;
double im;

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public:
complex() : re(1),im(0.5) {}
bool operator==(complex &rhs);
operator int(){}
};

bool complex::operator == (complex &rhs){

if((this->re == rhs.re) && (this->im == rhs.im))
return true;
else
return false;
}

int main(){
complex c1;
cout<< c1;
}

Answer : Garbage value

Explanation:
The programmer wishes to print the complex object using output
re-direction operator,which he has not defined for his lass.But the compiler instead of
giving an error sees the conversion function
and converts the user defined object to standard object and prints
some garbage value.

class complex{
double re;
double im;
public:
complex() : re(0),im(0) {}
complex(double n) { re=n,im=n;};
complex(int m,int n) { re=m,im=n;}
void print() { cout<<re; cout<<im;}
};

void main(){
complex c3;
double i=5;
c3 = i;
c3.print();
}

Answer:

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5,5
Explanation:
Though no operator= function taking complex, double is defined, the double
on the rhs is converted into a temporary object using the single argument constructor
taking double and assigned to the lvalue.

void main()
{
int a, *pa, &ra;
pa = &a;
ra = a;
cout <<"a="<<a <<"*pa="<<*pa <<"ra"<<ra ;
}

Answer :
Compiler Error: 'ra',reference must be initialized
Explanation :
Pointers are different from references. One of the main
differences is that the pointers can be both initialized and assigned,
whereas references can only be initialized. So this code issues an error.

Try it Yourself

1) Determine the output of the 'C++' Codelet.

class base
{
public :
out()
{
cout<<"base ";
}
};
class deri{
public : out()
{
cout<<"deri ";
}
};
void main()
{ deri dp[3];
base *bp = (base*)dp;
for (int i=0; i<3;i++)
(bp++)->out();
}

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2) Justify the use of virtual constructors and destructors in C++.

3) Each C++ object possesses the 4 member fns,(which can be declared by the
programmer explicitly or by the implementation if they are not available). What
are those 4 functions?

4) What is wrong with this class declaration?

class something
{
char *str;
public:
something(){
st = new char[10]; }
~something()
{
delete str;
}
};

5) Inheritance is also known as -------- relationship. Containership as ________

relationship.

6) When is it necessary to use member-wise initialization list (also known as header

initialization list) in C++?

7) Which is the only operator in C++ which can be overloaded but NOT inherited.

8) Is there anything wrong with this C++ class declaration?

class temp
{
int value1;
mutable int value2;
public :
void fun(int val)
const{
((temp*) this)->value1 = 10;
value2 = 10;
}
};

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1. What is a modifier?
Answer:
A modifier, also called a modifying function is a member function that changes
the value of at least one data member. In other words, an operation that modifies the
state of an object. Modifiers are also known as ‘mutators’.

2. What is an accessor?
Answer:
An accessor is a class operation that does not modify the state of an object. The
accessor functions need to be declared as const operations

3. Differentiate between a template class and class template.

Answer:
Template class:
A generic definition or a parameterized class not instantiated until the client
provides the needed information. It’s jargon for plain templates.
Class template:
A class template specifies how individual classes can be constructed much
like the way a class specifies how individual objects can be constructed. It’s jargon
for plain classes.

4. When does a name clash occur?

Answer:
A name clash occurs when a name is defined in more than one place. For
example., two different class libraries could give two different classes the same name.
If you try to use many class libraries at the same time, there is a fair chance that you
will be unable to compile or link the program because of name clashes.

5. Define namespace.
Answer:
It is a feature in c++ to minimize name collisions in the global name space.
This namespace keyword assigns a distinct name to a library that allows other
libraries to use the same identifier names without creating any name collisions.
Furthermore, the compiler uses the namespace signature for differentiating the
definitions.

6. What is the use of ‘using’ declaration.

Answer:
A using declaration makes it possible to use a name from a namespace without
the scope operator.

7. What is an Iterator class?

Answer:
A class that is used to traverse through the objects maintained by a container
class. There are five categories of iterators:
 input iterators,

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 output iterators,
 forward iterators,
 bidirectional iterators,
 random access.
An iterator is an entity that gives access to the contents of a container object
without violating encapsulation constraints. Access to the contents is granted on a
one-at-a-time basis in order. The order can be storage order (as in lists and queues) or
some arbitrary order (as in array indices) or according to some ordering relation (as in
an ordered binary tree). The iterator is a construct, which provides an interface that,
when called, yields either the next element in the container, or some value denoting
the fact that there are no more elements to examine. Iterators hide the details of access
to and update of the elements of a container class.
The simplest and safest iterators are those that permit read-only access to the
contents of a container class. The following code fragment shows how an iterator
might appear in code:
cont_iter:=new cont_iterator();
x:=cont_iter.next();
while x/=none do
...
s(x);
...
x:=cont_iter.next();
end;
In this example, cont_iter is the name of the iterator. It is created on the first line
by instantiation of cont_iterator class, an iterator class defined to iterate over some
container class, cont. Succesive elements from the container are carried to x. The loop
terminates when x is bound to some empty value. (Here, none)In the middle of the
loop, there is s(x) an operation on x, the current element from the container. The next
element of the container is obtained at the bottom of the loop.

9. List out some of the OODBMS available.

Answer:
 GEMSTONE/OPAL of Gemstone systems.
 ONTOS of Ontos.
 Objectivity of Objectivity inc.
 Versant of Versant object technology.
 Object store of Object Design.
 ARDENT of ARDENT software.
 POET of POET software.

10. List out some of the object-oriented methodologies.

Answer:
 Object Oriented Development (OOD) (Booch 1991,1994).
 Object Oriented Analysis and Design (OOA/D) (Coad and Yourdon 1991).
 Object Modelling Techniques (OMT) (Rumbaugh 1991).

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 Object Oriented Software Engineering (Objectory) (Jacobson 1992).

 Object Oriented Analysis (OOA) (Shlaer and Mellor 1992).
 The Fusion Method (Coleman 1991).

11. What is an incomplete type?

Answer:
Incomplete types refers to pointers in which there is non availability of the
implementation of the referenced location or it points to some location whose value is
not available for modification.
Example:
int *i=0x400 // i points to address 400
*i=0; //set the value of memory location pointed by i.
Incomplete types are otherwise called uninitialized pointers.

12. What is a dangling pointer?

Answer:
A dangling pointer arises when you use the address of an object after its
lifetime is over.
This may occur in situations like returning addresses of the automatic variables from
a function or using the address of the memory block after it is freed.

13. Differentiate between the message and method.

Answer:
Message Method
Objects communicate by sending messages Provides response to a message.
to each other.
A message is sent to invoke a method. It is an implementation of an operation.

14. What is an adaptor class or Wrapper class?

Answer:
A class that has no functionality of its own. Its member functions hide the use
of a third party software component or an object with the non-compatible interface or
a non- object- oriented implementation.

15. What is a Null object?

Answer:
It is an object of some class whose purpose is to indicate that a real object of
that class does not exist. One common use for a null object is a return value from a
member function that is supposed to return an object with some specified properties
but cannot find such an object.

16. What is class invariant?

Answer:
A class invariant is a condition that defines all valid states for an object. It is a
logical condition to ensure the correct working of a class. Class invariants must hold
when an object is created, and they must be preserved under all operations of the

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class. In particular all class invariants are both preconditions and post-conditions for
all operations or member functions of the class.

17. What do you mean by Stack unwinding?

Answer:
It is a process during exception handling when the destructor is called for all
local objects between the place where the exception was thrown and where it is
caught.

18. Define precondition and post-condition to a member function.

Answer:
Precondition:
A precondition is a condition that must be true on entry to a member function.
A class is used correctly if preconditions are never false. An operation is not
responsible for doing anything sensible if its precondition fails to hold.
For example, the interface invariants of stack class say nothing about pushing
yet another element on a stack that is already full. We say that isful() is a precondition
of the push operation.

Post-condition:
A post-condition is a condition that must be true on exit from a member
function if the precondition was valid on entry to that function. A class is
implemented correctly if post-conditions are never false.
For example, after pushing an element on the stack, we know that isempty()
must necessarily hold. This is a post-condition of the push operation.

19. What are the conditions that have to be met for a condition to be an invariant of

the class?

Answer:
 The condition should hold at the end of every constructor.
 The condition should hold at the end of every mutator(non-const) operation.

20. What are proxy objects?

Answer:
Objects that stand for other objects are called proxy objects or surrogates.
Example:
template<class T>
class Array2D
{
public:
class Array1D
{
public:

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T& operator[] (int index);

const T& operator[] (int index) const;
...
};
Array1D operator[] (int index);
const Array1D operator[] (int index) const;
...
};

The following then becomes legal:

Array2D<float>data(10,20);
........
cout<<data[3][6]; // fine

Here data[3] yields an Array1D object and the operator [] invocation on that
object yields the float in position(3,6) of the original two dimensional array. Clients
of the Array2D class need not be aware of the presence of the Array1D class. Objects
of this latter class stand for one-dimensional array objects that, conceptually, do not
exist for clients of Array2D. Such clients program as if they were using real, live,
two-dimensional arrays. Each Array1D object stands for a one-dimensional array that
is absent from a conceptual model used by the clients of Array2D. In the above
example, Array1D is a proxy class. Its instances stand for one-dimensional arrays
that, conceptually, do not exist.

21. Name some pure object oriented languages.

Answer:
 Smalltalk,
 Java,
 Eiffel,
 Sather.

22. Name the operators that cannot be overloaded.

Answer:
sizeof . .* .-> :: ?:

23. What is a node class?

Answer:
A node class is a class that,
 relies on the base class for services and implementation,
 provides a wider interface to te users than its base class,
 relies primarily on virtual functions in its public interface
 depends on all its direct and indirect base class
 can be understood only in the context of the base class

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 can be used as base for further derivation

 can be used to create objects.
A node class is a class that has added new services or functionality beyond the
services inherited from its base class.

24. What is an orthogonal base class?

Answer:
If two base classes have no overlapping methods or data they are said to be

independent of, or orthogonal to each other. Orthogonal in the sense means that two

classes operate in different dimensions and do not interfere with each other in any

way. The same derived class may inherit such classes with no difficulty.

25. What is a container class? What are the types of container classes?
Answer:
A container class is a class that is used to hold objects in memory or external
storage. A container class acts as a generic holder. A container class has a predefined
behavior and a well-known interface. A container class is a supporting class whose
purpose is to hide the topology used for maintaining the list of objects in memory.
When a container class contains a group of mixed objects, the container is called a
heterogeneous container; when the container is holding a group of objects that are all
the same, the container is called a homogeneous container.

26. What is a protocol class?

Answer:
An abstract class is a protocol class if:
 it neither contains nor inherits from classes that contain member data,
non-virtual functions, or private (or protected) members of any kind.
 it has a non-inline virtual destructor defined with an empty
implementation,
 all member functions other than the destructor including inherited
functions, are declared pure virtual functions and left undefined.

27. What is a mixin class?

Answer:
A class that provides some but not all of the implementation for a virtual base
class is often called mixin. Derivation done just for the purpose of redefining the
virtual functions in the base classes is often called mixin inheritance. Mixin classes
typically don't share common bases.

28. What is a concrete class?

Answer:

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A concrete class is used to define a useful object that can be instantiated as an

automatic variable on the program stack. The implementation of a concrete class is
defined. The concrete class is not intended to be a base class and no attempt to
minimize dependency on other classes in the implementation or behavior of the class.

29.What is the handle class?

Answer:
A handle is a class that maintains a pointer to an object that is
programmatically accessible through the public interface of the handle class.
Explanation:
In case of abstract classes, unless one manipulates the objects of these classes
through pointers and references, the benefits of the virtual functions are lost. User
code may become dependent on details of implementation classes because an abstract
type cannot be allocated statistically or on the stack without its size being known.
Using pointers or references implies that the burden of memory management falls on
the user. Another limitation of abstract class object is of fixed size. Classes however
are used to represent concepts that require varying amounts of storage to implement
them.
A popular technique for dealing with these issues is to separate what is used as a
single object in two parts: a handle providing the user interface and a representation
holding all or most of the object's state. The connection between the handle and the
representation is typically a pointer in the handle. Often, handles have a bit more data
than the simple representation pointer, but not much more. Hence the layout of the
handle is typically stable, even when the representation changes and also that handles
are small enough to move around relatively freely so that the user needn’t use the
pointers and the references.

30. What is an action class?

Answer:
The simplest and most obvious way to specify an action in C++ is to write a
function. However, if the action has to be delayed, has to be transmitted 'elsewhere'
before being performed, requires its own data, has to be combined with other actions,
etc then it often becomes attractive to provide the action in the form of a class that can
execute the desired action and provide other services as well. Manipulators used with
iostreams is an obvious example.
Explanation:
A common form of action class is a simple class containing just one virtual

function.

class Action
{
public:
virtual int do_it( int )=0;
virtual ~Action( );
}

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Given this, we can write code say a member that can store actions for later

execution without using pointers to functions, without knowing anything about the

objects involved, and without even knowing the name of the operation it invokes. For

example:

class write_file : public Action

{
File& f;
public:
int do_it(int)
{
return fwrite( ).suceed( );
}
};
class error_message: public Action
{
response_box db(message.cstr( ),"Continue","Cancel","Retry");
switch (db.getresponse( ))
{
case 0: return 0;
case 1: abort();
case 2: current_operation.redo( );return 1;
}
};

A user of the Action class will be completely isolated from any knowledge of

derived classes such as write_file and error_message.

31. When can you tell that a memory leak will occur?
Answer:
A memory leak occurs when a program loses the ability to free a block of
dynamically allocated memory.

32.What is a parameterized type?

Answer:
A template is a parameterized construct or type containing generic code that
can use or manipulate any type. It is called parameterized because an actual type is a
parameter of the code body. Polymorphism may be achieved through parameterized
types. This type of polymorphism is called parameteric polymorphism. Parameteric
polymorphism is the mechanism by which the same code is used on different types
passed as parameters.

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33. Differentiate between a deep copy and a shallow copy?

Answer:
Deep copy involves using the contents of one object to create another instance
of the same class. In a deep copy, the two objects may contain ht same information
but the target object will have its own buffers and resources. the destruction of either
object will not affect the remaining object. The overloaded assignment operator
would create a deep copy of objects.
Shallow copy involves copying the contents of one object into another
instance of the same class thus creating a mirror image. Owing to straight copying of
references and pointers, the two objects will share the same externally contained
contents of the other object to be unpredictable.
Explanation:
Using a copy constructor we simply copy the data values member by member.
This method of copying is called shallow copy. If the object is a simple class,
comprised of built in types and no pointers this would be acceptable. This function
would use the values and the objects and its behavior would not be altered with a
shallow copy, only the addresses of pointers that are members are copied and not the
value the address is pointing to. The data values of the object would then be
inadvertently altered by the function. When the function goes out of scope, the copy
of the object with all its data is popped off the stack.
If the object has any pointers a deep copy needs to be executed. With the deep
copy of an object, memory is allocated for the object in free store and the elements
pointed to are copied. A deep copy is used for objects that are returned from a
function.

34. What is an opaque pointer?

Answer:
A pointer is said to be opaque if the definition of the type to which it points to
is not included in the current translation unit. A translation unit is the result of
merging an implementation file with all its headers and header files.

35. What is a smart pointer?

Answer:
A smart pointer is an object that acts, looks and feels like a normal pointer but
offers more functionality. In C++, smart pointers are implemented as template classes
that encapsulate a pointer and override standard pointer operators. They have a
number of advantages over regular pointers. They are guaranteed to be initialized as
either null pointers or pointers to a heap object. Indirection through a null pointer is
checked. No delete is ever necessary. Objects are automatically freed when the last
pointer to them has gone away. One significant problem with these smart pointers is
that unlike regular pointers, they don't respect inheritance. Smart pointers are
unattractive for polymorphic code. Given below is an example for the implementation
of smart pointers.
Example:
template <class X>
class smart_pointer

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{
public:
smart_pointer(); // makes a null pointer
smart_pointer(const X& x) // makes pointer to copy of x

X& operator *( );
const X& operator*( ) const;
X* operator->() const;

smart_pointer(const smart_pointer <X> &);

const smart_pointer <X> & operator =(const smart_pointer<X>&);
~smart_pointer();
private:
//...
};
This class implement a smart pointer to an object of type X. The object itself
is located on the heap. Here is how to use it:
smart_pointer <employee> p= employee("Harris",1333);
Like other overloaded operators, p will behave like a regular pointer,
cout<<*p;
p->raise_salary(0.5);

36. What is reflexive association?

Answer:
The 'is-a' is called a reflexive association because the reflexive association
permits classes to bear the is-a association not only with their super-classes but also
with themselves. It differs from a 'specializes-from' as 'specializes-from' is usually
used to describe the association between a super-class and a sub-class. For example:
Printer is-a printer.

37. What is slicing?

Answer:
Slicing means that the data added by a subclass are discarded when an object
of the subclass is passed or returned by value or from a function expecting a base
class object.
Explanation:
Consider the following class declaration:
class base
{
...
base& operator =(const base&);
base (const base&);
}
void fun( )
{
base e=m;

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e=m;
}
As base copy functions don't know anything about the derived only the base
part of the derived is copied. This is commonly referred to as slicing. One reason to
pass objects of classes in a hierarchy is to avoid slicing. Other reasons are to preserve
polymorphic behavior and to gain efficiency.

38. What is name mangling?

Answer:
Name mangling is the process through which your c++ compilers give each

function in your program a unique name. In C++, all programs have at-least a few

functions with the same name. Name mangling is a concession to the fact that

linker always insists on all function names being unique.

Example:
In general, member names are made unique by concatenating the name of the
member with that of the class e.g. given the declaration:
class Bar
{
public:
int ival;
...
};
ival becomes something like:
// a possible member name mangling
ival__3Bar
Consider this derivation:
class Foo : public Bar
{
public:
int ival;
...
}
The internal representation of a Foo object is the concatenation of its base and

derived class members.

// Pseudo C++ code

// Internal representation of Foo
class Foo
{
public:
int ival__3Bar;

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int ival__3Foo;
...
};
Unambiguous access of either ival members is achieved through name mangling.

Member functions, because they can be overloaded, require an extensive

mangling to provide each with a unique name. Here the compiler generates the

same name for the two overloaded instances(Their argument lists make their

instances unique).

39. What are proxy objects?

Answer:
Objects that points to other objects are called proxy objects or surrogates. Its
an object that provides the same interface as its server object but does not have any
functionality. During a method invocation, it routes data to the true server object and
sends back the return value to the object.
40. Differentiate between declaration and definition in C++.
Answer:
A declaration introduces a name into the program; a definition provides a unique

description of an entity (e.g. type, instance, and function). Declarations can be

repeated in a given scope, it introduces a name in a given scope. There must be

exactly one definition of every object, function or class used in a C++ program.

A declaration is a definition unless:

 it declares a function without specifying its body,
 it contains an extern specifier and no initializer or function body,
 it is the declaration of a static class data member without a class
definition,
 it is a class name definition,
 it is a typedef declaration.
A definition is a declaration unless:

 it defines a static class data member,

 it defines a non-inline member function.

41. What is cloning?

Answer:

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An object can carry out copying in two ways i.e. it can set itself to be a copy

of another object, or it can return a copy of itself. The latter process is called cloning.

42. Describe the main characteristics of static functions.

Answer:
The main characteristics of static functions include,
 It is without the a this pointer,
 It can't directly access the non-static members of its class
 It can't be declared const, volatile or virtual.
 It doesn't need to be invoked through an object of its class, although
for convenience, it may.

43. Will the inline function be compiled as the inline function always? Justify.
Answer:
An inline function is a request and not a command. Hence it won't be
compiled as an inline function always.
Explanation:
Inline-expansion could fail if the inline function contains loops, the address of
an inline function is used, or an inline function is called in a complex expression. The
rules for inlining are compiler dependent.

44. Define a way other than using the keyword inline to make a function inline.
Answer:
The function must be defined inside the class.

45. How can a '::' operator be used as unary operator?

Answer:
The scope operator can be used to refer to members of the global namespace.
Because the global namespace doesn’t have a name, the notation :: member-name
refers to a member of the global namespace. This can be useful for referring to
members of global namespace whose names have been hidden by names declared in
nested local scope. Unless we specify to the compiler in which namespace to search
for a declaration, the compiler simple searches the current scope, and any scopes in
which the current scope is nested, to find the declaration for the name.

46. What is placement new?

Answer:
When you want to call a constructor directly, you use the placement new.

Sometimes you have some raw memory that's already been allocated, and you need to

construct an object in the memory you have. Operator new's special version

placement new allows you to do it.

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class Widget
{
public :
Widget(int widgetsize);
...
Widget* Construct_widget_int_buffer(void *buffer,int widgetsize)
{
return new(buffer) Widget(widgetsize);
}
};
This function returns a pointer to a Widget object that's constructed within the

buffer passed to the function. Such a function might be useful for applications using

shared memory or memory-mapped I/O, because objects in such applications must be

placed at specific addresses or in memory allocated by special routines.

OOAD

1. What do you mean by analysis and design?

Analysis:
Basically, it is the process of determining what needs to be done before
how it should be done. In order to accomplish this, the developer refers the existing
systems and documents. So, simply it is an art of discovery.
Design:
It is the process of adopting/choosing the one among the many, which
best accomplishes the users needs. So, simply, it is compromising mechanism.

2. What are the steps involved in designing?

Before getting into the design the designer should go through the SRS
prepared by the System Analyst.
The main tasks of design are Architectural Design and Detailed Design.
In Architectural Design we find what are the main modules in the problem
domain.
In Detailed Design we find what should be done within each module.

3. What are the main underlying concepts of object orientation?

Objects, messages, class, inheritance and polymorphism are the main concepts
of object orientation.

4. What do u meant by "SBI" of an object?

SBI stands for State, Behavior and Identity. Since every object has the above
three.

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 State:
It is just a value to the attribute of an object at a particular time.
 Behaviour:
It describes the actions and their reactions of that object.
 Identity:
An object has an identity that characterizes its own existence. The
identity makes it possible to distinguish any object in an unambiguous way, and
independently from its state.

5. Differentiate persistent & non-persistent objects?

Persistent refers to an object's ability to transcend time or space. A persistent
object stores/saves its state in a permanent storage system with out losing the
information represented by the object.
A non-persistent object is said to be transient or ephemeral. By default objects
are considered as non-persistent.

6. What do you meant by active and passive objects?

Active objects are one which instigate an interaction which owns a thread and
they are responsible for handling control to other objects. In simple words it can be
referred as client.
Passive objects are one, which passively waits for the message to be
processed. It waits for another object that requires its services. In simple words it can
be referred as server.

Diagram:
client server
(Active) (Passive)

7. What is meant by software development method?

Software development method describes how to model and build software
systems in a reliable and reproducible way. To put it simple, methods that are used to
represent ones' thinking using graphical notations.

8. What are models and meta models?

Model:
It is a complete description of something (i.e. system).
Meta model:
It describes the model elements, syntax and semantics of the notation
that allows their manipulation.

9. What do you meant by static and dynamic modeling?

Static modeling is used to specify structure of the objects that exist in the
problem domain. These are expressed using class, object and USECASE diagrams.
But Dynamic modeling refers representing the object interactions during
runtime. It is represented by sequence, activity, collaboration and statechart
diagrams.

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10. How to represent the interaction between the modeling elements?

Model element is just a notation to represent (Graphically) the entities that
exist in the problem domain. e.g. for modeling element is class notation, object
notation etc.
Relationships are used to represent the interaction between the modeling
elements.
The following are the Relationships.

 Association: Its' just a semantic connection two classes.

e.g.:
uses
class B
class A

 Aggregation: Its' the relationship between two classes which are related in the
fashion that master and slave. The master takes full rights than the slave. Since
the slave works under the master. It is represented as line with diamond in the
master area.
ex:
car contains wheels, etc.

car
car wheels

 Containment: This relationship is applied when the part contained with in the
whole part, dies when the whole part dies.
It is represented as darked diamond at the whole part.
example:
class A{
//some code
};

class B
{
A aa; // an object of class A;
// some code for class B;
};
In the above example we see that an object of class A is instantiated with in
the class B. so the object class A dies when the object class B dies.we can represnt it
in diagram like this.

class B
class A

 Generalization: This relationship used when we want represents a class, which

captures the common states of objects of different classes. It is represented as
arrow line pointed at the class, which has captured the common states.

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class A

class B class C

 Dependency: It is the relationship between dependent and independent classes.

Any change in the independent class will affect the states of the dependent class.
DIAGRAM:
class A class B

11. Why generalization is very strong?

Even though Generalization satisfies Structural, Interface, Behaviour
properties. It is mathematically very strong, as it is Antisymmetric and Transitive.
Antisymmetric: employee is a person, but not all persons are employees.
Mathematically all As’ are B, but all Bs’ not A.
Transitive: A=>B, B=>c then A=>c.
A. Salesman.
B. Employee.
C. Person.
Note: All the other relationships satisfy all the properties like Structural
properties, Interface properties, Behaviour properties.

12. Differentiate Aggregation and containment?

Aggregation is the relationship between the whole and a part. We can
add/subtract some properties in the part (slave) side. It won't affect the whole part.
Best example is Car, which contains the wheels and some extra parts. Even
though the parts are not there we can call it as car.
But, in the case of containment the whole part is affected when the part within
that got affected. The human body is an apt example for this relationship. When the
whole body dies the parts (heart etc) are died.

13. Can link and Association applied interchangeably?

No, You cannot apply the link and Association interchangeably. Since link is
used represent the relationship between the two objects.
But Association is used represent the relationship between the two classes.
link :: student:Abhilash course:MCA
Association:: student course

14. what is meant by "method-wars"?

Before 1994 there were different methodologies like Rumbaugh, Booch,
Jacobson, Meyer etc who followed their own notations to model the systems. The
developers were in a dilemma to choose the method which best accomplishes their

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needs. This particular span was called as "method-wars"

15. Whether unified method and unified modeling language are same or different?
Unified method is convergence of the Rumbaugh and Booch.
Unified modeling lang. is the fusion of Rumbaugh, Booch and Jacobson as
well as Betrand Meyer (whose contribution is "sequence diagram"). Its' the superset
of all the methodologies.

16. Who were the three famous amigos and what was their contribution to the object
community?
The Three amigos namely,
 James Rumbaugh (OMT): A veteran in analysis who came up with an idea about
the objects and their Relationships (in particular Associations).
 Grady Booch: A veteran in design who came up with an idea about partitioning of
systems into subsystems.

 Ivar Jacobson (Objectory): The father of USECASES, who described about the
user and system interaction.

17. Differentiate the class representation of Booch, Rumbaugh and UML?

If you look at the class representaiton of Rumbaugh and UML, It is some what
similar and both are very easy to draw.
Representation: OMT UML.
Diagram:

Booch: In this method classes are represented as "Clouds" which are not very
easy to draw as for as the developer's view is concern.
Diagram:

18. What is an USECASE? Why it is needed?

A Use Case is a description of a set of sequence of actions that a system
performs that yields an observable result of value to a particular action.
In SSAD process <=> In OOAD USECASE. It is represented elliptically.
Representation:

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19. Who is an Actor?

An Actor is someone or something that must interact with the system.In
addition to that an Actor initiates the process(that is USECASE).
It is represented as a stickman like this.
Diagram:

20. What is guard condition?

Guard condition is one, which acts as a firewall. The access from a particular
object can be made only when the particular condition is met.
For Example,
customer check customer number ATM.
Here the object on the customer accesses the ATM facility only when the guard
condition is met.

21. Differentiate the following notations?

I: :obj1 :obj2

II: :obj1 :obj2

In the above representation I, obj1 sends message to obj2. But in the case of II
the data is transferred from obj1 to obj2.

22. USECASE is an implementation independent notation. How will the designer give
the implementation details of a particular USECASE to the programmer?
This can be accomplished by specifying the relationship called "refinement”
which talks about the two different abstraction of the same thing.
Or example,

calculate pay calculate

class1 class2 class3

23. Suppose a class acts an Actor in the problem domain, how to represent it in the
static model?
In this scenario you can use “stereotype”. Since stereotype is just a string that
gives extra semantic to the particular entity/model element. It is given with in the <<
>>.

class A

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<< Actor>>
attributes

methods.

24. Why does the function arguments are called as "signatures"?

The arguments distinguish functions with the same name (functional
polymorphism). The name alone does not necessarily identify a unique function.
However, the name and its arguments (signatures) will uniquely identify a function.
In real life we see suppose, in class there are two guys with same name, but
they can be easily identified by their signatures. The same concept is applied here.
ex:
class person
{
public:
char getsex();
void setsex(char);
void setsex(int);
};
In the above example we see that there is a function setsex() with same name
but with different signature.

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