Texas General - other

Texas Instruments Test at Chennai : 8 Sept 2005

Test Paper 01

1. Can we declare a static function as virtual?
Ans: No. The virtual function mechanism is used on the specific object that determines which virtual function to call. Since the static functions are not any way related to objects, they cannot be declared as virtual.

2. Can user-defined object be declared as static data member of another class?
Ans: Yes. The following code shows how to initialize a user-defined object.
#include
class test
{
int i ;
public :
test ( int ii = 0 )
{
i = ii ;
}
};
class sample
{
static test s ;
};
test sample::s ( 26 ) ;
Here we have initialized the object s by calling the one-argument constructor. We can use the same convention to initialize the object by calling multiple-argument constructor.

3. What is forward referencing and when should it be used?
Ans: Consider the following program:
class test
{
public :
friend void fun ( sample, test ) ;
};
class sample
{
public :
friend void fun ( sample, test ) ;
};
void fun ( sample s, test t )
{
// code
}
void main( )
{
sample s ;
test t ;
fun ( s, t ) ;
}
This program would not compile. It gives an error that sample is undeclared identifier in the statement friend void fun ( sample, test ) ; of the class test. This is so because the class sample is defined below the class test and we are using it before its definition. To overcome this error we need to give forward reference of the class sample before the definition of class test. The following statement is the forward reference of class sample. Forward referencing is generally required when we make a class or a function as a friend.

4. The istream_withassign class has been derived from the istream class and overloaded assignment operator has been added to it. The _withassign classes are much like their base classes except that they include overloaded assignment operators. Using these operators the objects of the _withassign classes can be copied. The istream, ostream, and iostream classes are made uncopyable by making their overloaded copy constructor and assignment operators private.

5. How do I write my own zero-argument manipulator that should work same as hex?
Ans: This is shown in following program.
#include
ostream& myhex ( ostream &o )
{
o.setf ( ios::hex) ;
return o ;
}
void main( )
{
cout << endl << myhex << 2000 ;
}

6.We all know that a const variable needs to be initialized at the time of declaration. Then how come the program given below runs properly even when we have not initialized p?
#include
void main( )
{
const char *p ;
p = "A const pointer" ;
cout << p ;
}
Ans: The output of the above program is 'A const pointer'. This is because in this program p is declared as 'const char*' which means that value stored at p will be constant and not p and so the program works properly

7. How do I refer to a name of class or function that is defined within a namespace?
Ans: There are two ways in which we can refer to a name of class or function that is defined within a namespace: Using scope resolution operator through the using keyword. This is shown in following example:

namespace name1
{
class sample1
{
// code
};
}
namespace name2
{
class sample2
{
// code
};
}
using namespace name2 ;
void main( )
{
name1::sample1 s1 ;
sample2 s2 ;
}
Here, class sample1 is referred using the scope resolution operator. On the other hand we can directly refer to class sample2 because of the statement using namespace name2 ; the using keyword declares all the names in the namespace to be in the current scope. So we can use the names without any qualifiers.

8. While overloading a binary operator can we provide default values?
Ans: No!. This is because even if we provide the default arguments to the parameters of the overloaded operator function we would end up using the binary operator incorrectly. This is explained in the following example:

sample operator + ( sample a, sample b = sample (2, 3.5f ) )
{
}
void main( )
{
sample s1, s2, s3 ;
s3 = s1 + ; // error
}

9. How do I carry out conversion of one object of user-defined type to another?
Ans: To perform conversion from one user-defined type to another we need to provide conversion function. Following program demonstrates how to provide such conversion function.
class circle
{
private :
int radius ;
public:
circle ( int r = 0 )
{
radius = r ;
}
};
class rectangle
{
private :
int length, breadth ;
public :
rectangle( int l, int b )
{
length = l ;
breadth = b ;
}
operator circle( )
{
return circle ( length ) ;
}
};
void main( )
{
rectangle r ( 20, 10 ) ;
circle c;
c = r ;
}
Here, when the statement c = r ; is executed the compiler searches for an overloaded assignment operator in the class circle which accepts the object of type rectangle. Since there is no such overloaded assignment operator, the conversion operator function that converts the rectangle object to the circle object is searched in the rectangle class. We have provided such a conversion function in the rectangle class. This conversion operator function returns a circle object. By default conversion operators have the name and return type same as the object type to which it converts to. Here the type of the object is circle and hence the name of the operator function as well as the return type is circle.

10. How do I write code that allows to create only one instance of a class?
Ans: This is shown in following code snippet.

#include
class sample
{
static sample *ptr ;
private:
sample( )
{
}
public:
static sample* create( )
{
if ( ptr == NULL )
ptr = new sample ;
return ptr ;
}
};
sample *sample::ptr = NULL ;
void main( )
{
sample *a = sample::create( ) ;
sample *b = sample::create( ) ;
}
Here, the class sample contains a static data member ptr, which is a pointer
to the object of same class. The constructor is private which avoids us from creating objects outside the class. A static member function called create( ) is used to create an object of the class. In this function the condition is checked whether or not ptr is NULL, if it is then an object is created dynamically and its address collected in ptr is returned. If ptr is not NULL, then the same address is returned. Thus, in main( ) on execution of the first statement one object of sample gets created whereas on execution of second statement, b holds the address of the first object. Thus, whatever number of times you call create( ) function, only one object of sample class will be available.

11. How do I write code to add functions, which would work as get and put properties of a class?
Ans: This is shown in following code.
#include
class sample
{
int data ;
public:
__declspec ( property ( put = fun1, get = fun2 ) )
int x ;
void fun1 ( int i )
{
if ( i < 0 )
data = 0 ;
else
data = i ;
}
int fun2( )
{
return data ;
}
};
void main( )
{
sample a ;
a.x = -99 ;
cout << a.x ;
}
Here, the function fun1( ) of class sample is used to set the given integer value into data, whereas fun2( ) returns the current value of data. To set these functions as properties of a class we have given the statement as shown below:
__declspec ( property ( put = fun1, get = fun2 )) int x ;

As a result, the statement a.x = -99 ; would cause fun1( ) to get called to set the value in data. On the other hand, the last statement would cause fun2( ) to get called to return the value of data.

12. How do I write code to make an object work like a 2-D array?
Ans: Take a look at the following program.
#include
class emp
{
public :
int a[3][3] ;
emp( )
{
int c = 1 ;
for ( int i = 0 ; i <= 2 ; i++ )
{
for ( int j = 0 ; j <= 2 ; j++ )
{
a[i][j] = c ;
c++ ;
}
}
}
int* operator[] ( int i )
{
return a[i] ;
}
};
void main( )
{
emp e ;
cout << e[0][1] ;
}
The class emp has an overloaded operator [ ] function. It takes one argument an integer representing an array index and returns an int pointer. The statement cout << e[0][1] ; would get converted into a call to the overloaded [ ] function as e.operator[ ] ( 0 ). 0 would get collected in i. The function would return a[i] that represents the base address of the zeroeth row. Next the statement would get expanded as base address of zeroeth row[1] that can be further expanded as *( base address + 1 ). This gives us a value in zeroth row and first column.

13. What are formatting flags in ios class?
Ans: The ios class contains formatting flags that help users to format the stream data. Formatting flags are a set of enum definitions. There are two types of formatting flags:
On/Off flags
Flags that work in-group
The On/Off flags are turned on using the setf( ) function and are turned off using the unsetf( ) function. To set the On/Off flags, the one argument setf( ) function is used. The flags working in groups are set through the two-argument setf( ) function. For example, to left justify a string we can set the flag as,
cout.setf ( ios::left ) ;
cout << "KICIT Nagpur" ;
To remove the left justification for subsequent output we can say,
cout.unsetf ( ios::left ) ;
The flags that can be set/unset include skipws, showbase, showpoint,
uppercase, showpos, unitbuf and stdio. The flags that work in a group can have only one of these flags set at a time.

14. What is the purpose of ios::basefield in the following statement?
cout.setf ( ios::hex, ios::basefield ) ;
Ans: This is an example of formatting flags that work in a group. There is a flag for each numbering system (base) like decimal, octal and hexadecimal. Collectively, these flags are referred to as basefield and are specified by ios::basefield flag. We can have only one of these flags on at a time. If we set the hex flag as setf ( ios::hex ) then we will set the hex bit but we won't clear the dec bit resulting in undefined behavior. The solution is to call setf( ) as setf ( ios::hex, ios::basefield ). This call first clears all the bits and then sets the hex bit.

15. Can we get the value of ios format flags?
Ans: Yes! The ios::flags( ) member function gives the value format flags. This function takes no arguments and returns a long ( typedefed to fmtflags) that contains the current format flags.

16. Is there any function that can skip certain number of characters present in the input stream?
Ans: Yes! This can be done using cin::ignore( ) function. The prototype of this function is as shown below:
istream& ignore ( int n = 1, int d =EOF ) ;
Sometimes it happens that some extra characters are left in the input stream while taking the input such as, the ?\n? (Enter) character. This extra character is then passed to the next input and may pose problem.

To get rid of such extra characters the cin::ignore( ) function is used. This is equivalent to fflush ( stdin ) used in C language. This function ignores the first n characters (if present) in the input stream, stops if delimiter d is encountered.

17. Write a program that implements a date class containing day, month and year as data members. Implement assignment operator and copy constructor in this class.
Ans: This is shown in following program:
#include
class date
{
private :
int day ;
int month ;
int year ;
public :
date ( int d = 0, int m = 0, int y = 0 )
{
day = d ;
month = m ;
year = y ;
}
// copy constructor
date ( date &d )
{
day = d.day ;
month = d.month ;
year = d.year ;
}
// an overloaded assignment operator
date operator = ( date d )
{
day = d.day ;
month = d.month ;
year = d.year ;
return d ;
}
void display( )
{
cout << day << "/" << month << "/" << year ;
}
};
void main( )
{
date d1 ( 25, 9, 1979 ) ;
date d2 = d1 ;
date d3 ;
d3 = d2 ;
d3.display( ) ;
}

18. When should I use unitbuf flag?
Ans: The unit buffering (unitbuf) flag should be turned on when we want to ensure that each character is output as soon as it is inserted into an output stream. The same can be done using unbuffered output but unit buffering provides a better performance than the unbuffered output.

19.What are manipulators?
Ans: Manipulators are the instructions to the output stream to modify the output in various ways. The manipulators provide a clean and easy way for formatted output in comparison to the formatting flags of the ios class. When manipulators are used, the formatting instructions are inserted directly into the stream. Manipulators are of two types, those that take an argument and those that don?t.

20. What is the difference between the manipulator and setf( ) function?
Ans: The difference between the manipulator and setf( ) function are as follows:

The setf( ) function is used to set the flags of the ios but manipulators directly insert the formatting instructions into the stream. We can create user-defined manipulators but setf( ) function uses data members of ios class only. The flags put on through the setf( ) function can be put off through unsetf( ) function. Such flexibility is not available with manipulators.

21. How do I get the current position of the file pointer?
Ans: We can get the current position of the file pointer by using the tellp( ) member function of ostream class or tellg( ) member function of istream class. These functions return (in bytes) positions of put pointer and get pointer respectively.

22. What are put and get pointers?
Ans: These are the long integers associated with the streams. The value present in the put pointer specifies the byte number in the file from where next write would take place in the file. The get pointer specifies the byte number in the file from where the next reading should take place.

23. What do the nocreate and noreplace flag ensure when they are used for opening a file?
Ans: nocreate and noreplace are file-opening modes. A bit in the ios class defines these modes. The flag nocreate ensures that the file must exist before opening it. On the other hand the flag noreplace ensures that while opening a file for output it does not get overwritten with new one unless ate or app is set. When the app flag is set then whatever we write gets appended to the existing file. When ate flag is set we can start reading or writing at the end of existing file.

24. What is the limitation of cin while taking input for character array?
Ans: To understand this consider following statements,
char str[5] ;
cin >> str ;
While entering the value for str if we enter more than 5 characters then there is no provision in cin to check the array bounds. If the array overflows, it may be dangerous. This can be avoided by using get( ) function. For example, consider following statement,
cin.get ( str, 5 ) ;
On executing this statement if we enter more than 5 characters, then get( ) takes only first five characters and ignores rest of the characters. Some more variations of get( ) are available, such as shown below:
get ( ch ) ? Extracts one character only
get ( str, n ) ? Extracts up to n characters into str
get ( str, DELIM ) ? Extracts characters into array str until specified delimiter (such as '\n'). Leaves delimiting character in stream.
get ( str, n, DELIM ) ? Extracts characters into array str until n characters or DELIM character, leaving delimiting character in stream.

25. What is the purpose of istream class?
Ans: The istream class performs activities specific to input. It is derived from the ios class. The most commonly used member function of this class is the overloaded >> operator which can extract values of all basic types. We can extract even a string using this operator.

26. Would the following code work?
#include
void main( )
{
ostream o ;
o << "Dream. Then make it happen!" ;
}
Ans: No! This is because we cannot create an object of the ostream class since its constructor and copy constructor are declared private.

27. Can we use this pointer inside static member function?
Ans: No! The this pointer cannot be used inside a static member function. This is because a static member function is never called through an object.

28. What is strstream?
Ans: strstream is a type of input/output stream that works with the memory. It allows using section of the memory as a stream object. These streams provide the classes that can be used for storing the stream of bytes into memory. For example, we can store integers, floats and strings as a stream of bytes. There are several classes that implement this in-memory formatting. The class ostrstream derived from ostream is used when output is to be sent to memory, the class istrstream derived from istream is used when input is taken from memory and strstream class derived from iostream is used for memory objects that do both input and output. Ans: When we want to retrieve the streams of bytes from memory we can use istrestream. The following example shows the use of istrstream class.
#include
void main( )
{
int age ;
float salary ;
char name[50] ;
char str[] = "22 12004.50 K. Vishwanatth" ;
istrstream s ( str ) ;
s >> age >> salary >> name ;
cout << age << endl << salary << endl << name ;
cout << endl << s.rdbuf( ) ;
}
Here, s is the object of the class istrstream. When we are creating the object s, the constructor of istrstream gets called that receives a pointer to the zero terminated character array str. The statement s >> age >> salary >> name ; extracts the age, salary and the name from the istrstream object s. However, whil