C++ LANGUAGE DEFINING A FUNCTION PAGE 68

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C++ LANGUAGE DEFINING A 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 
} 
A C++ function definition consists of a function header and a 
function body. Here are all the parts of a function: 

• 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. 

• Function Name: This is the actual name of the function. 
The function name and the parameter list together constitute the function signature. 

• Parameters: A parameter is like a placeholder. When a function 
is invoked, you pass a value to the parameter. This value is referred 
to as actual parameter or argument. 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. 



• Function Body: The function body contains a collection of 
statements that define what the function does. 

Example: 
Following is the source code for a function called max(). 
This function takes two parameters num1 and num2 and returns 
the maximum between the two: 

// function returning the max between two numbers 
  
int max(int num1, int num2)  
{ 
   // local variable declaration 
   int result; 
  
   if (num1 > num2) 
      result = num1; 
   else 
      result = num2; 
  
   return result;  
}