Question

I can’t figure out why this program won’t work. I’m sure it’s something basic.

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
class MyPoint
{
    int x;
    int y;
public:
    MyPoint()
    {
        x = 0;
        y = 0;
    }

    MyPoint(int newX, int newY)
    {
        x = newX;
        y = newY;
    }

    int getX()
    { 
        return x;
    }

    int getY()
    {
        return y;
    }

    int distance(MyPoint newPoint)
    {
      distance = x - newPoint.getX();//need absolute value function
      return distance;
    };

  int main()
  {
    MyPoint point1(0,0);
    MyPoint point2(5,5);

    cout << "THe distance between the two circles is " << point1.distance(point2) << endl;

    return 0;
  }

I’m trying to find the distance between two points and just to test to make sure that I am using classes correctly. I am just using the x point only. Right now the code will not compile.

Answer 1

Your problem lies in the distance function:

int distance(MyPoint newPoint)
{
  distance = x - newPoint.getX();//need absolute value function
  return distance;
};

Here, you have a variable named distance, which is not declared anywhere, and also is overloaded with the function name. Instead, you need to declare a new local variable and then return it, or just return it right away:

Option 1:

int distance(MyPoint newPoint)
{
  int d = x - newPoint.getX(); // renamed d, adding int
  return d;
};

Option 2:

int distance(MyPoint newPoint)
{
  return x - newPoint.getX();
};