C++ - undefined reference to 'Class::variable' - c++

I keep getting error: undefined reference to 'Company::budget'.
My method is set so as to take the value of company's (any created) budget and subtract Employees' salary from it. I keep getting this problem. Tried both pointers and let's say "normal calling". Ok, there's the code snippet: (rest of it works)
company.h
#include <iostream>
#include <cstdlib>
#include <list>
#include <vector>
#include "employee.h"
using namespace std;
class Company
{
public:
Company* comp;
void hire(Employee& emp, float putSalary);
void fire(Employee& emp);
void endOfMonth(Company& comp);
Company(float);
// static float moneyamount;
private:
static float budget;
vector <Employee>* Employees;
};
company.cpp
void Company::endOfMonth(Company& comp)
{
for (iterat=0; iterat < Employees->size() ; iterat++)
{
cout << (*Employees)[iterat].fullName << endl;
cout << (*Employees)[iterat].getSalary() << endl;
comp.budget = comp.budget - (*Employees)[iterat].getSalary();
}
}

You are missing the definition of the static class data member. Add the following line to the file company.cpp:
float Company::budget;

Static class members variables are static over all instances of a class. So if you have two instances of one class, they share the static variable. Also, these variables are also valid even when there is no instance of the class. So, static member functions may use static member variables. That is the reason why they must defined somewhere outside the class in the object file.
You define it and reserve the necessary space for it in memory at the top level of you .cpp file:
float Company::budget;

Related

In C++, how do I fix a pointer class's variable becoming a nullptr when I call it?

I want to use a class: class2, within a class: class1. From what I read, to prevent a circular dependency, one must forward declare class2 in class1.h and have it be a pointer. After calling a function from class2 in my class1.cpp file. I'm unable to call the variables within class2 without getting "Unable to read memory" or a nullptr.
Here's my code, thank you for the help:
//main.cpp
#include "Login.h"
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
Login login;
login.StartMenu();
cout << "ENDING" << endl;
system("pause");
return 0;
}
//Login.h (Class1)
#pragma once
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
class GameManager;
class Login {
public:
void StartMenu();
private:
GameManager* manager;
};
//Login.cpp
#include "Login.h"
#include "GameManager.h"
void Login::StartMenu() {
manager->GameStart();
}
//GameManager.h (Class2)
#pragma once
class GameManager {
public:
void GameStart();
private:
int level = 1;
};
//GameManager.cpp
#include "Login.h"
#include "GameManager.h"
void GameManager::GameStart() {
cout << level;
}
Generally, it is a good idea to keep dependencies between headers to a minimum, and using pointers for classes that are only forward-declared is an established way to do that. This is good practice even if there are no circular dependencies because it can greatly reduce recompilation times in large projects.
Regarding your specific question: Essentially, the Login class, and especially the Login::StartMenu function, needs to know which GameManager instance to use. A pointer to that instance will be stored in manager. Ideally you can tell that at construction time of a Login instance via a GameManager * constructor argument:
#ifndef LOGIN_H
#define LOGIN_H
class GameManager;
/// This class handles the login procedure for a specific
/// game manager which must be provided to the constructor.
/// It cannot be copied (so it cannot be
/// in arrays) or default-constructed.
class Login {
public:
/// The constructor does nothing except initializing manager.
/// #param gmPtr is a pointer to the game manager
/// this instance is using.
void Login(GameManager *gmPtr)
: manager(gmPtr) { /* empty */ }
void StartMenu();
private:
GameManager* manager;
};
#endif // LOGIN_H
For completeness, here is how you would use it:
#include "Login.h"
#include "GameManager.h"
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
GameManager gm;
Login login(&gm); // <-- provide game manager to login
login.StartMenu();
cout << "ENDING" << endl;
system("pause");
return 0;
}
If that is not possible because the GameManager instance does not exist yet or is otherwise unknown during construction of a Login instance (for example, if you have an array of Login instances, whose elements must be default-constructed) you can provide the argument to the Login::StartMenu method. But the constructor argument is much preferred because you can then be sure that the class is functional in the rest of the code — this kind of "invariants" are the main reason why constructors exist.
It is certainly possible that you don't need to hold a pointer at all, if all functions get that pointer argument. Whether the Login class has a one-to-one relationship with a GameManager (in which case it simply holds a pointer to it) or not (in which case every function is told each time) is a design decision.

a typo on page 252 of the book " a complete guide to c++"?

I'm reading the book "a complete guide to c++". I think there is a typo there on page 252. So I have three files as the following.
In file account.h,
// account.h
// Defining the class Account. class definition (methods prototypes) is usually put in the header file
// ---------------------------------------------------
#ifndef _ACCOUNT_ // if _ACCOUNT_ is not defined
#define _ACCOUNT_
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
class Account
{
private:
string name;
unsigned long nr;
double balance;
public: //Public interface:
bool init( const string&, unsigned long, double);
void display();
};
#endif
// _ACCOUNT_
In file account.cpp,
// account.cpp
// Defines methods init() and display().
// ---------------------------------------------------
#include "account.h" // Class definition
#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>
using namespace std;
// The method init() copies the given arguments
// into the private members of the class.
bool Account::init(const string& i_name,
unsigned long i_nr,
double i_balance)
{
if( i_name.size() < 1)
return false; // check data format to make sure it is valid
name = i_name;
nr = i_nr;
balance = i_balance;
return true;
}
// the method display() outputs private data.
void Account::display()
{
cout << fixed << setprecision(2)
<< "--------------------------------------\n"
<< "Account holder:" << name << '\n'
<< "Account number:" << nr << '\n'
<< "Account balance:" << balance << '\n'
<< "--------------------------------------\n"
<< endl;
}
And finally, in file account_t.cpp
// account_t.cpp
// Uses objects of class Account.
// ---------------------------------------------------
#include "account.h" // header file which contains class definition; (prototype for member functions)
int main()
{
Account current1, current2; // create two instances with name current1, current2
current1.init("Cheers, Mary", 1234567, -1200.99);
// have to call the init function to initialize a Account object; init function is public; members properties are private;
// that's why can not do current1.name = "nana" outside of the class definition
current1.display();
// current1.balance += 100; // Error: private member
current2 = current1;
current2.display();
current2.init("Jones, Tom", 3512347, 199.40);
current2.display();
Account& mtr = current1; // create a reference, which points to object current1
mtr.display();
return 0;
}
I do not think it's correct; because obviously there is no way to get access the init member methods and the display member methods, right? I hope this is not a naive question.
EDIT: I tried to run the main function in file account_t.cpp, and got the following output.
~$ g++ account_t.cpp
/tmp/ccSWLo5v.o: In function `main':
account_t.cpp:(.text+0x8c): undefined reference to `Account::init(std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&, unsigned long, double)'
account_t.cpp:(.text+0xb6): undefined reference to `Account::display()'
account_t.cpp:(.text+0xd5): undefined reference to `Account::display()'
account_t.cpp:(.text+0x132): undefined reference to `Account::init(std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&, unsigned long, double)'
account_t.cpp:(.text+0x15c): undefined reference to `Account::display()'
account_t.cpp:(.text+0x176): undefined reference to `Account::display()'
collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status
Any more comments are greatly appreciated.
There is no issue with what you are asking about. init and display are declared public in the definition of class Account and the file with the class definition is #includeed properly in the .cpp using these methods.
In order to use a function only its declaration is needed (which is in the class definition in the header which is included). The definition/implementation in the .cpp file is not needed to use the function.
Each .cpp is compiled individually (called a translation unit) and afterwards each use of a function (for which only the declaration might have been available) is linked to the correct definitions from the other translation units if necessary via the function's scope, name and signature. This is called the linking process.
An introductory book to C++ should explain how compilation and linking process work.
For g++, there is an easy way to compile all .cpp files individually as translation units and then directly link them together:
g++ account_t.cpp account.cpp
You always need to add all .cpp to the compiler invocation like that. (There are alternative ways, but this is the easiest one.)
However, as mentioned in the comments there are other issues with this program:
_ACCOUNT_ is a reserved identifier that one may not #define in a program. All identifiers starting with an underscore followed by a capital letter are reserved. Using them causes undefined behavior.
using namespace std; is bad, at the very least when used in a header file, see Why is "using namespace std;" considered bad practice?.
Classes have constructors. One should not write init methods in most cases. The constructor is responsible for constructing and initializing class instances. But no constructor is used in the code.
Money should never be stored in double, because arithmetic with double is imprecise. You should store the value in an integer type in dimensions of the smallest relevant unit of money (e.g. cents).
#include <iostream> is not needed in the header file. One should avoid adding #includes that are not needed.
init returns a boolean indicating successful initialization. But main never checks that value. If a function can fail with an error value, then you must check that error value returned by the function to make sure that continuing the rest of the program is safe.
Some of these points may be excusable as simplification for a beginner program, depending on how far the book got at this point (though 200+ pages should already cover a lot), but others aren't.
Example of constructor use doing the same thing:
class Account
{
private:
string name;
unsigned long nr;
double balance;
public: //Public interface:
Account(const string&, unsigned long, double);
void display();
};
Account::Account(const string& i_name,
unsigned long i_nr,
double i_balance)
: name(i_name), nr(i_nr), balance(i_balance)
{
}
int main()
{
Account current1("Cheers, Mary", 1234567, -1200.99);
// Create Account instance and initialize private members; constructor is public; members properties are private;
// that's why can not do current1.name = "nana" outside of the class definition
current1.display();
// current1.balance += 100; // Error: private member
Account current2 = current1; // Create second Account instance and copy private members from first one
current2.display();
current2 = Account("Jones, Tom", 3512347, 199.40); // Replace instance with a copy of a new one
current2.display();
Account& mtr = current1; // create a reference, which points to object current1
mtr.display();
return 0;
}
The i_name.size() < 1 check (which is weirdly written, why not i_name.size() == 0?) would be realized by throwing an exception from the constructor:
Account::Account(const string& i_name,
unsigned long i_nr,
double i_balance)
: name(i_name), nr(i_nr), balance(i_balance)
{
if(i_name.size() == 0) {
throw invalid_argument("Account does not accept empty names!");
}
}
This requires #include<stdexcept> and is a more advanced topic.

How to access an array from main() with a member function?

I have this subclass Pirate.cpp and I want its mov function to access an array from main.
This array is basically the map (To check if it already has ship, dock and to access the array to change the object's (pirate ship) location from map[1][1] to map[1][2].
This map is a two-dimensional array of sea objects that each one can hold a ship with the pointer.
Ship is parent class of pirate (I have other subclasses I will do dynamic_cast before inserting Pirate to the Ship pointer).
I have an error code: 'Map' , 'Place' was not declared in this scope which I understand.
So basically how do I deal with this scope issue? Is there an alternate approach?
Pirate.cpp
#include "pirate.h"
#include "Sea.h"
void Pirate::mov()
{
MAP[1][2]->(*place)=MAP[1][1]->(*place)
MAP[1][2]->(*place)=NULL
}
Sea.h
#ifndef SEA.H
#define SEA.H
#include "ship.h"
class Sea
{
private:
bool hasShip;
bool isDock;
protected:
Ship *place = NULL;
public:
bool gethasShip() const {return hasShip;}
bool getisDock() const {return isDock;}
void sethasShip(bool i) {hasShip = i;}
void setisDock(bool i) {isDock = i;}
};
#endif
main
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <string>
#include "Ship.h"
#include "Sea.h"
#define SIZE 100
using std::cout;
using std::vector;
extern Sea Map[SIZE][SIZE];
int main()
{
Sea Map[SIZE][SIZE];
}
extern makes a declaration instead of a definition. It only says that somewhere the object is definied.
You need to have Sea Map[SIZE][SIZE]; in your main.cpp and extern Sea Map[SIZE][SIZE]; in other files from which you access the array.
There are a couple of things you could do:
You could make the Map a global variable by declaring it outside of main(), and use extern to reach it from within Pirate::mov.
You could also create a singleton, but that suffers from some of the same problems as globals.
A better solution is a class that contains the Map and the Pirates. When you construct your Pirates you could have each Pirate a reference to the Map.

Using namespace for static class members

Can someone explain why the following code does not work? I cannot find any resources explaining the how namespaces, classes and identifiers fit together. When you do my_class::my_member, the my_class:: part is not a namespace? What is it?
#include <iostream>
class my_class {
public:
static void my_member() {
std::cout << "worked" << std::endl;
}
};
int main() {
using namespace my_class; // error: 'my_class' is not a namespace-name
my_member(); // error: 'my_member' was not declared in this scope
my_class::my_member(); // works
}
As a more general question: is there a way I can reference static class members without doing the my_class:: namespace/ identifier/ whatever each time?
Instead of
my_class::my_member_1
my_class::my_member_2
I just want
my_member_1
my_member_2
Is this possible? Thank you.
Is this possible?
Yes, indirectly. If you create a method that operates in my_class's scope, then you can get the behavior you want.
#include <iostream>
class my_class {
public:
static void my_member() {
std::cout << "worked" << std::endl;
}
static int my_main();
};
int my_class::my_main() {
my_member(); // no error
my_class::my_member(); // works too
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}
int main() {
my_class::my_main();
}
my_class is not a namespace, it is a class name (a type). Therefore, you cannot use using namespace with my_class.
If you want to use my_member_1 without prefixing the class name, create a global wrapper function.
void my_member_1() {
my_class::my_member_1();
}
When you call a static function like this :
my_class::my_member();
You are refering to the class definition to find the static function. A static function will be the same for every instance of your class. You cannot access the static function either by simply calling the function name, or by creating an instance of the class to call the static function.
If you want to call directly the static function without writing down the class definition, you could do something like :
#define my_member_1 my_class::my_member_1()
#define my_member_2 my_class::my_member_2()
...
After that you could simply call my_member_1 to execute your static function, but that could get confusing on a large scale program. My advice is to keep using the class definition so you know exactly what function you are calling.

State Machines, Sub-Classes, and Function Pointers

I'm having trouble implementing a state machine for class. I keep getting the errors:
state.cpp:5: error: have0 was not declared in this scope
state.cpp:10: error: redefinition of State* Have0State::process(std::string)
state.h:18: error: virtual State* Have0State::process(std::string) previously defined here
I'm trying to get the Have0State to work before I continue onto the rest of the machine, hence the sparse code.
state.h:
#ifndef STATE_H
#define STATE_H
#include <string>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <assert.h>
#include <iostream>
class State{
public:
State(){};
virtual State* process(std::string input) = 0;
};
class Have0State: public State {
public:
Have0State():State(){};
virtual State* process(std::string input);
}have0;
#endif
state.cpp:
#include "state.h"
using namespace std;
State *currentState = &have0;
State* Have0State::process(string input){
if(input == "quarter"){
cout << "cool" << endl;
}
return &have0;
}
int main(int argc, char** argv) {
string input;
//get input
cin >> input;
while (input != "exit") {
currentState = currentState->process(input);
//get input
cin >> input;
}
return 0;
};
I've tried defining the process function as Have0State::State::process(string input) but that didn't work either. Any clarification on how function pointers are supposed to work, especially in the context of subclass member functions, I would greatly appreciate it.
EDIT: Also, what exactly is the have0 declaration at the end of the Have0State class declaration in the state.h file? It doesn't have an explicitly stated type; is it implied that it is of type Have0State??
There aren't any function pointers in your example. Also, like Marciej, I am able to compile (and run) this code.
But, since you asked, the 'have0' declaration simply declares an instance of the class. A class definition can be followed by 0 or more of these declarations (as well as initializers):
class Thing {...} one, another, many[3] = { Thing(1), Thing(2), Thing(3) };
the same as for any other type:
int counter = 0, flag = 0x80, limit = 500;
The possibility of this optional declarator list is why class, struct, union, and enum definitions must be followed with a semi-colon (to terminate the list).
But, as Karthik said, defining a variable in a header will cause "duplicate definition" errors at link time, if the header is included in more than one .cpp file. IMO it's fine though to use this technique to define and declare private objects in a .cpp file (rather than a .h file).