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Friend Class

A friend class in C++ is a class that can access the private and protected members of another class by being declared within that class. Friendship is not inherited, meaning if Class A is a friend of Class B, Class C (inheriting from B) does not automatically gain that friendship. The document also distinguishes between friend functions and friend classes, noting that friend functions have access to private members but are not classes themselves.

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Hasham Ahmad
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31 views4 pages

Friend Class

A friend class in C++ is a class that can access the private and protected members of another class by being declared within that class. Friendship is not inherited, meaning if Class A is a friend of Class B, Class C (inheriting from B) does not automatically gain that friendship. The document also distinguishes between friend functions and friend classes, noting that friend functions have access to private members but are not classes themselves.

Uploaded by

Hasham Ahmad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

‭OOPS Lecture 1 ; Friend class‬

‭What is a friend class ?‬


I‭n C++, a‬‭friend class‬‭is a class that is given access‬‭to the private and‬
‭protected members of another class. This is done by declaring the friend‬
‭class inside the definition of the class whose private and protected‬
‭members need to be accessed.‬

‭Syntax‬
‭Declaration:‬

friend‬‭
‭ class‬‭
ClassB‬
;‬
‭

‭Usage:‬
class‬‭
‭ ClassB‬‭
{‬

public:‬
‭
void‬‭
‭ display‬
(‬
‭ClassA‬‭
‭ &‬
a) {‬
‭
// Accessing private members of ClassA‬
‭
cout‬‭
‭ <<‬‭
"Private Data from ClassA: "‬‭
<<‬
a‬
‭.‬
‭privateData‬‭
‭ <<‬‭
endl‬
;‬
‭
}‬
‭
};‬
‭

‭Properties:‬
‭Access to Private and Protected Members:‬

‭ friend class can access private and protected members of the class it is‬
A
‭friends with.‬

‭Not a Member of the Class:‬


‭ espite having access to private members, the friend class is not‬
D
‭considered a member of the class. It doesn’t need to be instantiated from‬
‭the class to access its private members.‬

‭Friendship is Not Inherited:‬

I‭f a class A is a friend of class B, and class B is inherited by class C, then‬


‭class C does not automatically become a friend of class A.‬

‭Mutual Friendship is Possible:‬

‭One class can be a friend of another class, and vice versa.‬

‭Difference between friend function and class‬


‭Friend Function:‬

‭ function that is not a member of the class but has access to the private‬
A
‭and protected members of the class.‬

‭Friend Class:‬

‭ class that is given access to all the private and protected members of the‬
A
‭class it is friends with.‬
‭Code:‬
#include‬‭
‭ <iostream>‬
using‬‭
‭ namespace‬‭
std‬
;‬
‭
class‬‭
‭ complex‬
;‬
‭
class‬‭
‭ calculator‬
{‬
‭
public:‬
‭
complex‬‭
‭ sumComplex‬
(‭
‭ c
‬omplex‬
,‬‭
‭ complex‬
);‬
‭
};‬
‭
class‬‭
‭ complex‬
{‬
‭
private:‬
‭
int‬‭
‭ real‬
,‬‭
‭ imag‬
;‬
‭
friend‬‭
‭ class‬‭
calculator‬
;‬
‭
public:‬
‭
complex‬
‭ () {}‬
‭
complex‬
‭ (‭
‭i‬nt‬‭
real,‬‭
int‬‭
imag)‬
{‬
‭
this‬
‭ ->‬
‭ real‬‭
‭ =‬‭
real;‬
this‬
‭ ->‬
‭ imag‬‭
‭ =‬‭
imag;‬
}‬
‭
void‬‭
‭ display‬
(){‬
‭
cout‬‭
‭ <<‬‭
real‬‭
<<‬‭
" + "‬‭
<<‬‭
imag‬‭
<<‬‭
"i"‬‭
<<‬‭
endl‬
;‬
‭
}‬
‭
};‬
‭
complex‬‭
‭ calculator‬
::‬
‭ sumComplex‬
‭ (‬
‭ complex‬‭
‭ o1,‬‭
complex‬
o2)‬
‭
{‬
‭
complex‬‭
‭ o3‬
;‬
‭
o3‬
‭ .‬
‭ real‬‭
‭ =‬‭
o1‬
.‭
‭ r
‬eal‬‭
+‬‭
o2‬
.‭
‭ r
‬eal‬
;‬
‭
o3‬
‭ .‬
‭ imag‬‭
‭ =‬‭
o1‬
.‭
‭ i
‬mag‬‭
+‬‭
o2‬
.‭
‭ i
‬mag‬
;‬
‭
o3‬
‭ .‬
‭ display‬
‭ ();‬
‭
return‬‭
‭ o3‬
;‬
‭
}‬
‭
int‬‭
‭ main‬
()‬
‭
{‬
‭
complex‬‭
‭ c1‬
(‭
‭ 1
‬‬,‬‭
‭ 2‬),‬‭
‭ c2‬
(‬
‭ 1‭
‭,‬‬‭
2‬);‬
‭
calculator‬‭
‭ c‬;‬
‭
c‬
‭ .‭
‭s‬umComplex‬
(‭
‭c‬1‬
,‬‭
‭ c2‬
);‬
‭
return‬‭
‭ 0‭
;‬‬
}‬
‭
class‬‭
‭ ClassA‬‭
{‬
private:‬
‭
int‬‭
‭ privateData‬
;‬
‭

public:‬
‭
ClassA‬
‭ () :‬‭
‭ privateData‬
(‭
‭1‬0‬
) {}‬
‭
// Friend class declaration‬
‭
friend‬‭
‭ class‬‭
ClassB‬
;‬
‭
}‬
‭

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