Difference between revisions of "C++ interview"

class Array
{
public:
    Array(size_t count);
    // etc.
};

This seems innocent enough until you realize that you can do this:

Array array = 123;

Well that’s ugly but hardly something to get excited about, or is it? This is known as an implicit conversion. The trouble is that it can occur in more insidious places. Consider the following function:

void UseArray(const Array& array);

Because the compiler will attempt to find an implicit conversion, the following code compiles just find:

UseArray(123);

Yikes! That’s terrible. First there is the problem of code clarity. What does this mean? Secondly, because the implicit conversion involves calling the Array constructor, presumably enough storage is being allocated for a new Array object, not to mention the memory reserved for 123 elements contained in the array. Surely this is not what the programmer intended!?

All of these subtleties can be avoided by making the Array constructor explicit:

class Array
{
public:
    explicit Array(size_t size);
    // etc.
};

Now a programmer needs to be explicit about her use of the Array constructor.

Array array(123);
UseArray(Array(123));

A thing of beauty.

Private Inheritance

Private inheritance is like making a composition.
One advantage to using protected/private inheritance instead of composition is that the derived class has access to protected members in the parent class. However this is kind of a double-edged sword, as it becomes easier to misuse the class.

class Motherboard {};

// this makes a "has a" relationship
class Computer : private Motherboard
{
};

// this makes a similar "has a" relationship
//  this approach is aka "composition"
class Computer
{
private:
  Motherboard mobo;
};

Virtual Functions

When virtual function in based class has been called, it will find the most derived version to call.
If the function is designated virtual in the base class then the derived class' function would be called (if it exists). If it is not virtual, the base class' function would be called. To be short, virtual functions will have lowest priority to be called.

Virtual inheritance

To avoid ambiguous call of the same 2 levels higher base class. Declare virtual to say that the 2 levels higher base class is the same shared one.

class Animal {
 public:
  virtual void eat();
};
 
// Two classes virtually inheriting Animal:
class Mammal : public virtual Animal {
 public:
  virtual void breathe();
};
 
class WingedAnimal : public virtual Animal {
 public:
  virtual void flap();
};
 
// A bat is still a winged mammal
class Bat : public Mammal, public WingedAnimal {
};

To avoid ambiguous between inherited WingedAnimal::Animal and Mammal:Animal From the code above.Animal instance is unambiguous,and we can call Bat::eat().

Virtual const

class Base
{
public:
    virtual void eval() const
    {
        std::cout<<"Base Const Eval\n";
    }
};

class Derived:public Base
{
public:
    void eval()
    {
        std::cout<<"Derived Non-Const Eval\n";
    }
};
int main()
{

    Derived d;
    Base* pB=&d;

    pB->eval(); //This will call the Base eval()

    return 0;
}

Declaring a member function with the const keyword specifies that the function is a "read-only" function that does not modify the object for which it is called.
Const and non-const are 2 different functions
The example above base class evel() will be called.
In your Derived class, the prototype for eval doesn't match the one for the virtual function in Base. So it won't override the virtual function.
If you add the const for Derived::eval(), you should get virtual behavior.

Why destructor needs to be virtual

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2004/05/07/127826.aspx

ArrayList Vs LinkedList

ArrayList: fast random access
slow at delete
memory fill up issue
LinkedList: slow random access
quick delete
no memory fill up issue
complex data structure

Pointer size

32 bit system: sizeof(char) == 1.

In practice, pointers will be size 2 on a 16-bit system (if you can find one), 4 on a 32-bit system, and 8 on a 64-bit system, but there's nothing to be gained in relying on a given size.

Program memory

The computer program memory is organized into the following:
Data Segment (Data + BSS + Heap)
Stack
Code segment
Data
The data area contains global and static variables used by the program that are explicitly initialized with a value. This segment can be further classified into a read-only area and read-write area. For instance, the string defined by char s[] = "hello world" in C and a C statement like int debug=1 outside the "main" would be stored in initialized read-write area. And a C statement like const char* string = "hello world" makes the string literal "hello world" to be stored in initialized read-only area and the character pointer variable string in initialized read-write area. Ex: both static int i = 10 and global int i = 10 will be stored in the data segment.
BSS
The BSS segment, also known as uninitialized data, starts at the end of the data segment and contains all global variables and static variables that are initialized to zero or do not have explicit initialization in source code. For instance a variable declared static int i; would be contained in the BSS segment. Heap
The heap area begins at the end of the BSS segment and grows to larger addresses from there. The heap area is managed by malloc, realloc, and free, which may use the brk and sbrk system calls to adjust its size (note that the use of brk/sbrk and a single "heap area" is not required to fulfill the contract of malloc/realloc/free; they may also be implemented using mmap to reserve potentially non-contiguous regions of virtual memory into the process' virtual address space). The heap area is shared by all shared libraries and dynamically loaded modules in a process.
Stack
The stack area traditionally adjoined the heap area and grew the opposite direction; when the stack pointer met the heap pointer, free memory was exhausted. (With modern large address spaces and virtual memory techniques they may be placed almost anywhere, but they still typically grow in opposite directions.)
The stack area contains the program stack, a LIFO structure, typically located in the higher parts of memory. On the standard PC x86 computer architecture it grows toward address zero; on some other architectures it grows the opposite direction. A "stack pointer" register tracks the top of the stack; it is adjusted each time a value is "pushed" onto the stack. The set of values pushed for one function call is termed a "stack frame"; A stack frame consists at minimum of a return address.

C++ name hiding

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/comphelp/v8v101/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.xlcpp8a.doc%2Flanguage%2Fref%2Fname_hiding.htm

c++ const pointer / pointer to const data

const keyword apply to the word to its left.
Const Data:
const type* variable;
type const * variable;
Const pointer Address:
type * const variable = some memory address;

Q&A