Running class method in another class method

Question

i would like to run a function method of a class inside another function method of another class. I wrote the following code as an example and it compiles and return the expected values. My question is if this is the correct way of preforming a computation of class method inside another class method...

Regards

 #include <iostream>

 class CBoo {
 public:
     CBoo();
     void Test();
     void Plot();

 private:
     int b;
 };

 CBoo::CBoo() {
     b = 3;
 }

 void CBoo::Test() {
     b++;
 }

 void CBoo::Plot() {
     std::cout << "b: " << b << std::endl;
 }

 class CFoo {
 public:
     CFoo();
     void Test( CBoo &Boo );
     void Plot();

 private:
     int a;
 };

 CFoo::CFoo() {
     a = 3;
 }

 void CFoo::Test( CBoo &Boo ) {

     for ( int i = 0 ; i < 10 ; i++ ) {
              a++;
              Boo.Test();
     }
 }

 void CFoo::Plot() {
     std::cout << "a: " << a << std::endl;
 }

 int main( ) {

    CFoo Foo;
    CBoo Boo;

    Foo.Test( Boo );

    Foo.Plot();
    Boo.Plot();

    return 0;

 }

Greg · Accepted Answer · 2011-06-04 07:27:52Z

5

There are two straightforward ways to do this. One of them, the one you chose, is to pass an external class object to another object method. The other is to encapsulate an object inside of another object and to call it directly from a method of the enclosing class.

There may be more esoteric ways of doing this, but the one you chose is perfectly reasonable. Which option you choose is based on the architecture of your program.

answered Jun 4, 2011 at 7:27

Greg

1,5103 gold badges15 silver badges31 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Comments

Will A · Accepted Answer · 2011-06-04 07:24:33Z

3

Looks perfectly reasonable to me.

answered Jun 4, 2011 at 7:24

Will A

25k5 gold badges54 silver badges61 bronze badges

Comments

taskinoor · Accepted Answer · 2011-06-04 10:05:57Z

2

The method that you are using is not a class method. In general, class/static method means the methods that are not associated with any particular instance of the class, rather they are associated with class itself. In C++, static is used for this.

The method you are using is called instance method. The way you have used it is perfectly fine. And instead of passing a parameter you can have a reference in the class as pointed by Greg. It all depends on your needs. If the method is required only in one method or if you to use different instances of Boo is CFoo.Test then you should pass them as parameter. But if you need only one instance of Boo all the time then you can create that in CFoo and use that in all methods. What you will do is dependent on your need.

The only objection that I have about your code is the naming of variable. The convention is to use lower case letter to denote objects/methods and upper case to denote class. So parameter Boo should be named boo.

edited Jun 4, 2011 at 10:05

answered Jun 4, 2011 at 7:45

taskinoor

46.1k13 gold badges118 silver badges143 bronze badges

3 Comments

Greg Over a year ago

Excellent points with respect to class methods vs. instance methods.

Greg Over a year ago

I'd agree also that naming even test code more clearly is a good idea, though I would point out that naming conventions are not universal.

taskinoor Over a year ago

@Greg, yes they are not universal. There are languages/frameworks/books where capital is used in methods. But in C++/Java/Obj-C/AS3 this convention is mostly followed.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Running class method in another class method

3 Answers 3

Comments

Comments

3 Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

3 Answers 3

Comments

Comments

3 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related