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Final Exam Study Guide

Final Exam Study Guide







Final Exam Key Facts




C++ Concepts


Memory Management


Static Memory: Allocated when the program is compiled. Used for global and static variables. There is only one copy, and it persists for the entire program duration.

Stack Memory: Used for local variables inside functions. Memory is automatically allocated and deallocated as functions are called and return (Last-In, First-Out).

Heap Memory: Used for dynamic memory allocation with the new keyword or functions like malloc. This memory must be manually deallocated using delete or free to prevent memory leaks. The golden rule is: every new must have a matching delete.



Classes, Constructors, and Destructors


A Class is a blueprint for creating objects, defining both state (member variables) and behavior (member functions).

Access Specifiers: public (accessible anywhere), protected (accessible within the class and derived classes), and private (accessible only within the class). These enforce encapsulation.

Member functions can be defined inside the class (for short, convenient functions) or outside using the scope resolution operator (::) to keep class definitions cleaner.

A Constructor is a special function called automatically when an object is created to initialize it.

A Destructor is called automatically when an object is destroyed. Its primary purpose is to clean up resources, especially deallocating heap memory allocated by the object to prevent memory leaks and dangling references.



Inheritance and Polymorphism


Inheritance allows a new class (derived/child class) to be built from an existing class (base/parent class), promoting code reuse.

The "is-a" relationship signifies inheritance (e.g., a Student is a Person).

The "has-a" relationship signifies containment or composition (e.g., a Car has a Wheel).

Polymorphism ("many forms") allows a single interface to represent different underlying forms (data types). In C++, this is achieved with virtual functions.

A virtual function in a base class can be overridden by a derived class. When called through a base class pointer, the version in the derived class is executed, enabling dynamic behavior based on the actual object type.

Function Overloading means having multiple functions with the same name but different parameters (number or type of arguments).…