Classes and Abstraction

Vocabulary flashcards for review.

Abstraction

The separation of the essential qualities of an object from the details of how it works or is composed, focusing on what, not how.

Control Abstraction

Separates the logical properties of an action from its implementation.

Data Abstraction

Separates the logical properties of a data type from its implementation.

Data Type

A set of values (domain) and allowable operations on those values.

Abstract Data Type (ADT)

A data type whose properties (domain and operations) are specified independently of any particular implementation.

ADT Implementation

Choose a specific data representation for the abstract data using existing data types, and write functions for each allowable operation.

C++ ClassType

Facilitates re-use of C++ code for an ADT, where software using the class is a client, and variables are class objects or instances.

Class Declaration

Creates a data type and names the members of the class but does not allocate memory.

Aggregate Class Operations

Built-in operations valid on class objects include member selection, assignment, and passing as a function argument.

Information Hiding

Class implementation details are hidden from the client's view.

Selection and Resolution

Used to determine the object to whom a member function is applied. Used in the heading before the function member’s name to specify its class

Class Constructor

A member function whose purpose is to initialize the private data members of a class object.

Default Constructor

A constructor with no parameters.