Question

in a book i am reading to learn basic c++, there is this example:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Point {
private:             // Data members (private)
int x, y;
public:              // Member functions
void set(int new_x, int new_y);
int get_x();
int get_y();
};

void Point::set(int new_x, int new_y) {
x = new_x;
y = new_y;
}

int Point::get_x() {
return x;
}
int Point::get_y() {
return y;
}

My question is, is it not possible in c++ to include the definition of the member functions inside the class itself? The above seems quite messy. The book says to define a class member function you should use ‘return_type class_name::function(){arguments}. But in C# you can just do it within the same class and it is less code. I haven’t been able to find much about properties in c++. Thanks for help.

Answer 1

Although it is possible, it’s not really recommended. Actually, the way it’s done in your book isn’t how it should be done either (and hopefully, later on in the book that will change!). The way you’ll see it done 99% of the time (yes, I pulled that number out of my ass) is a class definition in a header file (.h extension) and the definitions in a source file (.cpp extension). The header file will be imported so to speak, into the source file via #include.