Adding Language Necessities

This chapter will introduce necessary non-OO features of C++ that are critical building blocks for C++’s object-oriented features. The features presented in this chapter represent topics that you will see matter-of-factly used from this point onward in the book. C++ is a language shrouded in areas of gray; from this chapter forward, you will become versed in not only language features, but in language nuances. The goal of this chapter will be to begin enhancing your skills from those of an average C++ programmer to one who is capable of operating among language subtleties successfully while creating maintainable code.

In this chapter, we will cover the following main topics:

• The const qualifier
• Function prototyping
• Function overloading

By the end of this chapter, you will understand non-OO features such as the const qualifier, function prototyping (including using default values), and function overloading (including how standard...