Linxutopia - Thinking in C++ - 13: Dynamic Object Creation

Thinking in C++
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A simple example

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This example shows that initialization takes place:

//: C13:Tree.h
#ifndef TREE_H
#define TREE_H
#include <iostream>

class Tree {
  int height;
public:
  Tree(int treeHeight) : height(treeHeight) {}
  ~Tree() { std::cout << "*"; }
  friend std::ostream&
  operator<<(std::ostream& os, const Tree* t) {
    return os << "Tree height is: "
              << t->height << std::endl;
  }
}; 
#endif // TREE_H ///:~

//: C13:NewAndDelete.cpp
// Simple demo of new & delete
#include "Tree.h"
using namespace std;

int main() {
  Tree* t = new Tree(40);
  cout << t;
  delete t;
} ///:~

We can prove that the constructor is called by printing out the value of the Tree. Here, it’s done by overloading the operator<< to use with an ostream and a Tree*. Note, however, that even though the function is declared as a friend, it is defined as an inline! This is a mere convenience – defining a friend function as an inline to a class doesn’t change the friend status or the fact that it’s a global function and not a class member function. Also notice that the return value is the result of the entire output expression, which is an ostream& (which it must be, to satisfy the return value type of the function).

Thinking in C++
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