C++ Defining functions
In C++, functions are employed to group together a collection of statements that carry out a single purpose. Declaring the function signature and implementing the function body are steps in the definition of a function.
Syntax of function:
return_type function_name(parameter_list) {
// function body
}
where function name is the name of the function, return type is the data type of the value that the function returns, and parameter list is a list of the function’s input arguments separated by commas.
Example:
int sum(int a, int b) {
return a + b;
}
Sum is the name of the function in the example above, and (int a, int b) is the list of parameters. Int is the function’s return type.
The code that completes the intended task is contained in the function body. The function computes the sum of two integers, a and b, in the aforementioned example and returns the result.
Functions may be independently declared and defined. The function signature is provided in a function declaration, which also notifies the compiler of the function’s existence.
Synatx:
return_type function_name(parameter_list);
Here’s an example function declaration for the sum function defined above:
int sum(int a, int b);
Moreover, functions may be overloaded, which allows for the existence of many functions with the same name but various argument lists. Here’s an illustration of a function that is too busy:
int sum(int a, int b) {
return a + b;
}
double sum(double a, double b) {
return a + b;
}
The sum function is overloaded in the example above to accept either two int parameters or two double parameters.
In conclusion, declaring the function signature and implementing the function body are the steps involved in defining functions in C++. Functions can be overloaded to accept various parameter lists and can be declared and defined separately.