The document discusses functions in C++, including defining functions, parameter passing, inline functions, and default arguments. It covers: - Defining functions with return types, function names, parameters, and bodies - Passing parameters by value and by reference - Using the inline keyword to avoid function call overhead for small functions - Specifying default values for parameters so functions can be called without passing all arguments

1. Functions In C++
Presented by:
Mr. Sachin Sharma, Dr. Vinod Jain , Ms. Kriti Bansal
Assistant Professor, Dept. Of CE&A
GLA University, Mathura

2. Syllabus
4.0 Functions In C++
4.1 Call by Value & Reference
4.2 Inline Function
4.3 Default Arguments
4.4 Function Overloading.
<Subject Code> <Name of Subject> 2

3. Module 1- Section 4- Lecture 1
4.0 Functions In C++

4. 4.0 Functions In C++

5. 4.0 Functions In C++
• A function is a group of statements that together perform a task.
• Every C++ program has at least one function, which is main()

6. 4.0 Functions In C++
A function declaration tells the compiler about a function's name,
return type, and parameters.
A function definition provides the actual body of the function.
Defining a Function
The general form of a C++ function definition is as follows −
return_type function_name( parameter list )
{
body of the function
}

7. 4.0 Functions In C++ : Defining a Function

8. 4.0 Functions In C++
• Return Type
• A function may return a value.
• The return_type is the data type of the
value the function returns.
• Some functions perform the desired
operations without returning a value. In
this case, the return_type is the
keyword void.
int fact(int no)
{
int i,f=1;
for(i=1;i<=no;i++)
f=f*i;
return(f);
}

9. 4.0 Functions In C++
• Function Name −
• This is the actual name of the function.
• The function name and the parameter
list together constitute the function
signature.
• Example
• Here function name is fact
int fact(int no)
{
int i,f=1;
for(i=1;i<=no;i++)
f=f*i;
return(f);
}

10. 4.0 Functions In C++
• Parameters −
• When a function is invoked, you pass a
value to the parameter.
• The parameter list refers to the type,
order, and number of the parameters of
a function.
• Parameters are optional; that is, a
function may contain no parameters.
• Example (int no)
int fact(int no)
{
int i,f=1;
for(i=1;i<=no;i++)
f=f*i;
return(f);
}

11. 4.0 Functions In C++
• Function Body −
• The function body contains a collection of
statements that define what the function
does.
• Example Function body here is
{
int i,f=1;
for(i=1;i<=no;i++)
f=f*i;
return(f);
}
int fact(int no)
{
int i,f=1;
for(i=1;i<=no;i++)
f=f*i;
return(f);
}

12. 4.0 Functions In C++
• // A program to write and use a function to calculate factorial of a
number

14. 4.0 Functions In C++
// A program to write and use a function to
// calculate factorial of a number
#include<iostream>
#include<conio.h>
using namespace std;
//function prototype
int fact(int);
//main function
int main()
{
int n,factorial;
cout<<"Enter the n : "<<endl;
cin>>n;
//calculate factorial using function.
factorial=fact(n);
//print factorial
cout<<"Factorial of "<<n<<" is "<<factorial;
return 0;
}
//function
int fact(int no)
{
int i,f=1;
for(i=1;i<=no;i++)
f=f*i;
return(f);
}
Output
Enter the no.
5
Factorial of 5 is 120

15. 4.0 Functions In C++
• Parameter Passing to functions
1. Actual Parameters
2. Formal parameters

16. 4.0 Functions In C++
• Parameter Passing to functions
Actual Parameters
• The parameters passed to function are called actual parameters.
• For example, in the above program 5 is actual parameters.
• Formal parameters
• The parameters received by function are called formal parameters.
• For example, in the above program no is a formal parameter.

17. Module 1- Section 4- Lecture 2
4.1 Call by Value & Reference

18. 4.1 Call by Value & Reference
• There are two most popular ways to pass parameters.
1. Call by Value
2. Call by reference

19. 4.1 Call by Value & Reference
• There are two most popular ways to pass parameters.
1. Call by Value
2. Call by reference

20. 4.1 Call by Value & Reference

21. 4.1 Call by Value
• Call by Value:
• In this parameter passing method, values of actual parameters are
copied to function’s formal parameters.
• The two types of parameters are stored in different memory
locations.
• So any changes made inside functions are not reflected in actual
parameters of caller.

23. 4.1 Call by Value
• // Call by value
• #include <iostream>
• using namespace std;
•
• // function declaration
• void swap(int x, int y);
•
• int main () {
• // local variable declaration:
• int a = 100;
• int b = 200;
•
• cout << "Before swap, value of a :" << a << endl;
• cout << "Before swap, value of b :" << b << endl;
•
• // calling a function to swap the values.
• swap(a, b);
•
• cout << "After swap, value of a :" << a << endl;
• cout << "After swap, value of b :" << b << endl;
• return 0;
• }
• // function definition to swap the values.
• void swap(int x, int y) {
• int temp;
• temp = x;
• x = y;
• y = temp;
•
• return;
• }
• Output
• Before swap, value of a :100
• Before swap, value of b :200
• After swap, value of a :100
• After swap, value of b :200

24. 4.1 Call by Reference
• call by reference
• The call by reference method of passing arguments to a function
copies the reference of an argument into the formal parameter.
• Inside the function, the reference is used to access the actual
argument used in the call.
• This means that changes made to the parameter affect the passed
argument.

25. 4.1 Call by Reference
• call by reference
• To pass the value by reference, argument reference is passed to the
functions just like any other value.
• So accordingly you need to declare the function parameters as
reference types as in the following function swap(), which exchanges
the values of the two integer variables pointed to by its arguments.
void swap(int &x, int &y)
{
}

26. 4.1 Call by Reference
• Program to swap two numbers using call by reference
• Make a swap() function which pass parameters by reference
void swap(int &x, int &y) {
int temp;
temp = x;
x = y;
y = temp;
return;
}

28. 4.1 Differnce between
Call by Value & Reference

29. Module 1- Section 4- Lecture 3
4.2 Inline Function

30. 4.2 Inline Function
• The inline functions are a C++ enhancement feature to decrease the
execution time of a program.
• Inline function is a function that is expanded in line when it is called.
• When the inline function is called whole code of the inline function
gets inserted or substituted at the point of inline function call.
• Functions can be instructed to compiler to make them inline so that
compiler can replace those function definition wherever those are
being called.

31. 4.2 Inline Function

32. 4.2 Inline Function :
How to make function inline:
To make any function as inline, start its definitions with the keyword
“inline”.
Example
inline int cube(int s)
{
return s*s*s;
}

33. 4.2 Inline Function

34. 4.2 Inline Function
• #include <iostream>
• using namespace std;
• inline int cube(int s)
• {
• return s*s*s;
• }
• int main()
• {
• cout << "The cube of 3 is: " << cube(3) << "n";
• return 0;
• } //Output: The cube of 3 is: 27

35. 4.2 Inline Function : Why to use –
• In many places we create the functions for small work/functionality
which contain simple and less number of executable instruction.
• Imagine their calling overhead each time they are being called by
callers.
•

36. 4.2 Inline Function : Why to use –
1. When a normal function call instruction is encountered,
2. the program stores the memory address of the instructions
immediately following the function call statement,
3. loads the function being called into the memory, copies argument
values, jumps to the memory location of the called function,
4. executes the function codes, stores the return value of the function,
5. and then jumps back to the address of the instruction that was
saved just before executing the called function.
6. Too much run time overhead.

37. 4.2 Inline Function : Why to use –
• The C++ inline function provides an alternative.
• With inline keyword, the compiler replaces the function call
statement with the function code itself (process called expansion)
and then compiles the entire code.
• Thus, with inline functions, the compiler does not have to jump to
another location to execute the function, and then jump back as the
code of the called function is already available to the calling program.

38. 4.2 Inline Function : Pros :-
1. It speeds up your program by avoiding function calling overhead.
2. It save overhead of variables push/pop on the stack, when function
calling happens.
3. It save overhead of return call from a function.
4. It increases locality of reference by utilizing instruction cache.
5. You can put a function definition in a header file and it can be
included in multiple compilation unit.

39. 4.2 Inline Function : Cons
1. It increases the executable size due to code expansion.
2. Which means if you change the code of the inlined function, you
would need to recompile all the code using it to make sure it will be
updated
3. As mentioned above it increases the executable size, which may
cause thrashing in memory. More number of page fault bringing
down your program performance.
4. Sometimes not useful for example in embedded system where large
executable size is not preferred at all due to memory constraints.

40. 4.2 Inline Function : When to use -
• Function can be made as inline as per programmer need.
• Some useful recommendation are mentioned below-
• 1. Use inline function when performance is needed.
• 2. Use inline function over macros.

41. 4.2 Inline Function : Restrictions
• Inlining is only a request to the compiler, not a command.
• Compiler can ignore the request for inlining.
• Compiler may not perform inlining in such circumstances like:
• 1) If a function contains a loop. (for, while, do-while)
• 2) If a function contains static variables.
• 3) If a function is recursive.
• 4) If a function return type is other than void, and the return statement
doesn’t exist in function body.
• 5) If a function contains switch or goto statement.

42. Module 1- Section 4- Lecture 4
4.3 Default Arguments

43. 4.3 Default Arguments

44. 4.3 Default Arguments
• In C++ programming, we can provide default values
for function parameters.
• If a function with default arguments is called without passing
arguments, then the default parameters are used.
• However, if arguments are passed while calling the function, the
default arguments are ignored.
int sum(int x, int y, int z=0, int w=0)
{
return (x + y + z + w);
}

45. 4.3 Default Arguments
• A default argument is a value provided in a function declaration that
is automatically assigned by the compiler if the caller of the function
doesn’t provide a value for the argument with a default value.
int sum(int x, int y, int z=0, int w=0)
{
return (x + y + z + w);
}

46. 4.3 Default Arguments

47. 4.3 Default Arguments : program

49. 4.3 Default Arguments : program
• // Program of default argument
• #include<iostream>
• using namespace std;
•
• // A function with default arguments, it can be called with
• // 2 arguments or 3 arguments or 4 arguments.
• int sum(int x, int y, int z=0, int w=0)
• {
• return (x + y + z + w);
• }
• int main()
• {
• cout << sum(10, 15) << endl;
• cout << sum(10, 15, 25) << endl;
• cout << sum(10, 15, 25, 30) << endl;
• return 0;
• }

50. 4.3 Default Arguments : Key Points:
• Default arguments are different from constant arguments as constant
arguments can't be changed whereas default arguments can be
overwritten if required.
• Default arguments are overwritten when calling function provides
values for them. For example, calling of function sum(10, 15, 25, 30)
overwrites the value of z and w to 25 and 30 respectively.
• During calling of function, arguments from calling function to called
function are copied from left to right. Therefore, sum(10, 15, 25) will
assign 10, 15 and 25 to x, y, and z. Therefore, the default value is used
for w only.

51. 4.3 Default Arguments
• When Function overloading is done along with default values. Then
we need to make sure it will not be ambiguous.
• The compiler will throw error if ambiguous.

52. Module 1- Section 4- Lecture 4
4.4 Function Overloading

54. 4.4 Function Overloading
• Function overloading is a feature in C++ where two or more functions
can have the same name but different parameters.
• The definition of the function must differ from each other
• 1. By number of arguments in the argument list.
• 2. By types of arguments in the argument list.
• 3. Or Both in number and types
• You cannot overload function declarations that differ by return type.

55. 4.4 Function Overloading
• Examples
• int myFunction() { }
• int myFunction(int a) { }
• float myFunction(double a) { }
• int myFunction(int a, double b) { }

56. 4.4 Function Overloading
• The advantage of Function overloading is that it increases the
readability of the program because you don't need to use different
names for the same action.

57. 4.4 Function Overloading Example

59. 4.4 Function Overloading Example
• // Function Overloading Example
• #include <iostream>
• using namespace std;
•
• void display(int);
• void display(float);
• void display(int, float);
•
• int main()
• {
•
• int a = 5;
• float b = 5.5;
•
• display(a);
• display(b);
• display(a, b);
•
• return 0;
• }
• void display(int var) {
• cout << "Integer number: " << var << endl;
• }
• void display(float var) {
• cout << "Float number: " << var << endl;
• }
• void display(int var1, float var2) {
• cout << "Integer number: " << var1;
• cout << " and float number:" << var2;
• }

60. 4.4 Function Overloading and Ambiguity
• When the compiler is unable to decide which function is to be
invoked among the overloaded function, this situation is known
as Ambiguity in function overloading.
• When the compiler shows the ambiguity error, the compiler does not
run the program.

61. 4.4 Function Overloading and Ambiguity
• Causes of Ambiguity in Function Overloading:
1. Type Conversion.
2. Function with default arguments.
3. Function with pass by reference.

62. 4.4 Function Overloading and Ambiguity
1. Type Conversion.

63. Reason
The fun(1.2) calls the second function
according to our prediction.
But, this does not refer to any function as in
C++, all the floating point constants are
treated as double not as a float.
So 1.2 is treated as double not float.
If we replace float to double, the program
works.

64. 4.4 Function Overloading and Ambiguity
// Ambiguity in Function overloading
// 1. By Type conversion
#include<iostream>
using namespace std;
void fun(int);
void fun(float);
void fun(int i)
{
std::cout << "Value of i is : " <<i<< std::endl;
}
void fun(float j)
{
std::cout << "Value of j is : " <<j<< std::endl;
}
int main()
{
fun(12);
fun(1.2);
return 0;
}

65. 4.4 Ambiguity by Default Arguments

67. Explanation
1. The above example shows an error "call
of overloaded 'fun(int)' is ambiguous".
2. The fun(int a, int b=9) can be called in
two ways:
3. first is by calling the function with one
argument, i.e., fun(12)
4. and another way is calling the function
with two arguments, i.e., fun(4,5).
5. The fun(int i) function is invoked with
one argument i.e. fun(12).
6. Therefore, the compiler could not be
able to select among fun(int i) and
fun(int a,int b=9) and show an error
message that function call is
ambiguous.

68. 4.4 Ambiguity by Default Arguments
• // Ambiguity in Function overloading
• // By Default Arguments
• #include<iostream>
• using namespace std;
•
• void fun(int i)
• {
• cout << "Value of i is : " <<i<< std::endl;
• }
• void fun(int a,int b=9)
• {
• cout << "Value of a is : " <<a<< std::endl;
• cout << "Value of b is : " <<b<< std::endl;
• }
• int main()
• {
• fun(12);
• return 0;
• }

69. 4.4 Ambiguity by Call By Reference

71. Explanation
1. The above example shows an
error "call of overloaded
'fun(int&)' is ambiguous".
2. The first function takes one
integer argument and the second
function takes a reference
parameter as an argument.
3. In this case, the compiler does
not know which function is
needed by the user as there is no
syntactical difference between
the fun(int) and fun(int &).

72. 4.4 Ambiguity by Call By Reference
// Ambiguity in Function overloading
// Ambiguity because of call by reference
include <iostream>
using namespace std;
void fun(int);
void fun(int &);
int main()
{
int a=10;
fun(a); // error, which fun()?
return 0;
}
void fun(int x)
{
std::cout << "Value of x is : "
<<x<< std::endl;
}
void fun(int &b)
{
cout << "Value of b is : " <<b<<
std::endl;
}
[Error] call of overloaded 'fun(int&)' is
ambiguous

73. References
• https://www.tutorialspoint.com/cplusplus/cpp_functions.htm
• https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/inline-functions-cpp/
• https://www.edureka.co/blog/function-overloading-in-cpp/#what
• https://www.edureka.co/blog/function-overloading-in-
cpp/#ambiguity