C++ Interview Questions For Freshers

1. What are the different data types present in C++?

The 4 data types in C++ are given below:

• Primitive Datatype(basic datatype). Example- char, short, int, float, long,

double, bool, etc.
• Derived datatype. Example- array, pointer, etc.
• Enumeration. Example- enum
• User-defined data types. Example- structure, class, etc.

Practice Problems

Solve these problems to ace this concept

Variable and Types

Medium

30.23 Mins

Solve

2. What is the difference between C and C++?

The main difference between C and C++ are provided in the table below:

C C++
C is a procedure-oriented programming C++ is an object-oriented programming
language. language.
Data is hidden by encapsulation to
C does not support data hiding. ensure that data structures and
operators are used as intended.
C is a subset of C++ C++ is a superset of C.
Function and operator overloading are not Function and operator overloading is
supported in C supported in C++
Namespace is used by C++, which
Namespace features are not present in C
avoids name collisions.
Functions can not be defined inside Functions can be defined inside
structures. structures.
calloc() and malloc() functions are used for new operator is used for memory
memory allocation and free() function is allocation and deletes operator is used
used for memory deallocation. for memory deallocation.
3. What are class and object in C++?

A class is a user-defined data type that has data members and member functions.
Data members are the data variables and member functions are the functions that
are used to perform operations on these variables.

An object is an instance of a class. Since a class is a user-defined data type so an

object can also be called a variable of that data type.

A class is defined as-

class A{
private:
int data;
public:
void fun(){

}
};

Class and Object in C++

For example, the following is a class car that can have properties like name, color,
etc. and they can have methods like speed().

Practice Problems
Solve these problems to ace this concept

Classes and Objects

Medium

22.19 Mins

Solve

You can download a PDF version of Cpp Interview Questions.

Download PDF

4. What is the difference between struct and class?

In C++ a structure is the same as a class except for a few differences like security.
The difference between struct and class are given below:

Structure Class
Members of the class are
Members of the structure are public by default.
private by default.
When deriving a struct from a class/struct, default When deriving a class, default
access specifiers for base class/struct are public. access specifiers are private.

5. What is operator overloading?

Operator Overloading is a very essential element to perform the operations on

user-defined data types. By operator overloading we can modify the default
meaning to the operators like +, -, *, /, <=, etc.

For example -

The following code is for adding two complex number using operator overloading-

class complex{
private:
float r, i;
public:
complex(float r, float i){
this->r=r;
this->i=i;
}
complex(){}
void displaydata(){
cout<<”real part = “<<r<<endl;
cout<<”imaginary part = “<<i<<endl;
 }
complex operator+(complex c){
return complex(r+c.r, i+c.i);
}
};
int main(){
complex a(2,3);
complex b(3,4);
complex c=a+b;
c.displaydata();
return 0;
}

6. What is polymorphism in C++?

Polymorphism in simple means having many forms. Its behavior is different in

different situations. And this occurs when we have multiple classes that are related
to each other by inheritance.

For example, think of a base class called a car that has a method called car brand().
Derived classes of cars could be Mercedes, BMW, Audi - And they also have their
own implementation of a cars

The two types of polymorphism in c++ are:

• Compile Time Polymorphism

• Runtime Polymorphism
Polymorphism in C++

Practice Problems

Solve these problems to ace this concept

Polymorphism
Medium

13.30 Mins

Solve

7. Explain constructor in C++

The constructor is a member function that is executed automatically whenever an

object is created. Constructors have the same name as the class of which they are
members so that compiler knows that the member function is a constructor. And no
return type is used for constructors.

Example:
class A{
private:
int val;
public:
A(int x){ //one argument constructor
val=x;
}
A(){ //zero argument constructor
}
}
int main(){
A a(3);

return 0;
}

8. Tell me about virtual function

Virtual function is a member function in the base class that you redefine in a
derived class. A virtual function is declared using the virtual keyword. When the
function is made virtual, C++ determines which function is to be invoked at the
runtime based on the type of the object pointed by the base class pointer.

Practice Problems

Solve these problems to ace this concept

Runtime Polymorphism (Virtual Functions)

Medium

28.37 Mins

Solve

9. Compare compile time polymorphism and Runtime polymorphism

The main difference between compile-time and runtime polymorphism is provided

below:

Compile-time polymorphism Run time polymorphism

In this method, we come to know at
In this method, we would come to know at
run time which method will be called.
compile time which method will be called.
The call is not resolved by the
And the call is resolved by the compiler.
compiler.
It provides slow execution compared
It provides fast execution because it is
to compile-time polymorphism
known at the compile time.
because it is known at the run time.
Compile-time polymorphism Run time polymorphism
It is achieved by function overloading and It can be achieved by virtual functions
operator overloading. and pointers.
Example -
Example -
class A{
int add(int a, int b){ public:
return a+b; virtual void fun(){
} cout<<"base ";
int add(int a, int b, int c){ }
return a+b+c; };
} class B: public A{
public:
int main(){ void fun(){
cout<<add(2,3)<<endl; cout<<"derived ";
cout<<add(2,3,4)<<endl; }
};
int main(){
return 0; A *a=new B;
} a->fun();

return 0;
}

10. What do you know about friend class and friend function?

A friend class can access private, protected, and public members of other classes in
which it is declared as friends.

Like friend class, friend function can also access private, protected, and public
members. But, Friend functions are not member functions.

For example -

class A{
private:
int data_a;
public:
A(int x){
data_a=x;
}
friend int fun(A, B);
}
class B{
private:
int data_b;
public:
A(int x){
data_b=x;
}
friend int fun(A, B);
}
int fun(A a, B b){
return a.data_a+b.data_b;
}
int main(){
A a(10);
B b(20);
cout<<fun(a,b)<<endl;
return 0;
}

Here we can access the private data of class A and class B.

11. What are the C++ access specifiers?

In C++ there are the following access specifiers:

Public: All data members and member functions are accessible outside the class.

Protected: All data members and member functions are accessible inside the class
and to the derived class.

Private: All data members and member functions are not accessible outside the
class.

12. Define inline function

If a function is inline, the compiler places a copy of the code of that function at each
point where the function is called at compile time. One of the important advantages
of using an inline function is that it eliminates the function calling overhead of a
traditional function.

13. What is a reference in C++?

A reference is like a pointer. It is another name of an already existing variable. Once

a reference name is initialized with a variable, that variable can be accessed by the
variable name or reference name both.

For example-

int x=10;
int &ref=x; //reference variable

If we change the value of ref it will be reflected in x. Once a reference variable is

initialized it cannot refer to any other variable. We can declare an array of pointers
but an array of references is not possible.

14. What do you mean by abstraction in C++?

Abstraction is the process of showing the essential details to the user and hiding the
details which we don’t want to show to the user or hiding the details which are
irrelevant to a particular user.
15. Is deconstructor overloading possible? If yes then explain and if no
then why?

No destructor overloading is not possible. Destructors take no arguments, so there’s

only one way to destroy an object. That’s the reason destructor overloading is not
possible.

16. What do you mean by call by value and call by reference?

In call by value method, we pass a copy of the parameter is passed to the functions.
For these copied values a new memory is assigned and changes made to these
values do not reflect the variable in the main function.

In call by reference method, we pass the address of the variable and the address is
used to access the actual argument used in the function call. So changes made in
the parameter alter the passing argument.

17. What is an abstract class and when do you use it?

A class is called an abstract class whose objects can never be created. Such a class
exists as a parent for the derived classes. We can make a class abstract by placing a
pure virtual function in the class.

18. What are destructors in C++?

A constructor is automatically called when an object is first created. Similarly when

an object is destroyed a function called destructor automatically gets called. A
destructor has the same name as the constructor (which is the same as the class
name) but is preceded by a tilde.

Example:

class A{
private:
int val;
public:
A(int x){
val=x;
}
A(){
}
~A(){ //destructor
}
}
int main(){
A a(3);
return 0;
}

19. What are the static members and static member functions?
When a variable in a class is declared static, space for it is allocated for the lifetime
of the program. No matter how many objects of that class have been created, there
is only one copy of the static member. So same static member can be accessed by
all the objects of that class.

A static member function can be called even if no objects of the class exist and the
static function are accessed using only the class name and the scope resolution
operator ::

20. Explain inheritance

Inheritance is the process of creating new classes, called derived classes, from
existing classes. These existing classes are called base classes. The derived classes
inherit all the capabilities of the base class but can add new features and
refinements of their own.

Example-

Inheritance in C++

Class Bus, Class Car, and Class Truck inherit the properties of Class Vehicle.

The most important thing about inheritance is that it permits code reusability.

C++ Interview Questions For Experienced

21. What is a copy constructor?
A copy constructor is a member function that initializes an object using another
object of the same class.

Example-

class A{
int x,y;
A(int x, int y){
this->x=x;
this->y=y;
}

};
int main(){
A a1(2,3);
A a2=a1; //default copy constructor is called
return 0;
}

We can define our copy constructor. If we don’t define a copy constructor then the
default copy constructor is called.

22. What is the difference between shallow copy and deep copy?

The difference between shallow copy and a deep copy is given below:

Shallow Copy Deep Copy

Deep copy makes a new and separate copy
Shallow copy stores the references of
of an entire object with its unique memory
objects to the original memory address.
address.
Shallow copy is faster. Deep copy is comparatively slower.
Shallow copy reflects changes made to
Deep copy doesn’t reflect changes made to
the new/copied object in the original
the new/copied object in the original object
object.

23. What is the difference between virtual functions and pure virtual
functions?

A virtual function is a member function in the base class that you redefine in a
derived class. It is declared using the virtual keyword.

Example-

class base{
public:
virtual void fun(){

}
};
A pure virtual function is a function that has no implementation and is declared by
assigning 0. It has no body.

Example-

class base{
public:
virtual void fun()=0;
};

Here, = sign has got nothing to do with the assignment, and value 0 is not assigned
to anything. It is used to simply tell the compiler that a function will be pure and it
will not have anybody.

24. If class D is derived from a base class B. When creating an object of

type D in what order would the constructors of these classes get called?

The derived class has two parts, a base part, and a derived part. When C++
constructs derived objects, it does so in phases. First, the most-base class(at the top
of the inheritance tree) is constructed. Then each child class is constructed in order
until the most-child class is constructed last.
So the first Constructor of class B will be called and then the constructor of class D
will be called.

During the destruction exactly reverse order is followed. That is destructor starts at
the most-derived class and works its way down to base class.
So the first destructor of class D will be called and then the destructor of class B will
be called.

25. Can we call a virtual function from a constructor?

Yes, we can call a virtual function from a constructor. But the behavior is a little
different in this case. When a virtual function is called, the virtual call is resolved at
runtime. It is always the member function of the current class that gets called. That
is the virtual machine doesn’t work within the constructor.

For example-

class base{
private:
int value;
public:
base(int x){
value=x;
}
virtual void fun(){

}
}

class derived{
 private:
int a;
public:
derived(int x, int y):base(x){
base *b;
b=this;
b->fun(); //calls derived::fun()
}
void fun(){
cout<<”fun inside derived class”<<endl;
}
}

26. What are void pointers?

A void pointer is a pointer which is having no datatype associated with it. It can hold
addresses of any type.

For example-

void *ptr;
char *str;
p=str; // no error
str=p; // error because of type mismatch

We can assign a pointer of any type to a void pointer but the reverse is not true
unless you typecast it as

str=(char*) ptr;

27. What is this pointer in C++?

The member functions of every object have a pointer named this, which points to
the object itself. The value of this is set to the address of the object for which it is
called. It can be used to access the data in the object it points to.

Example

class A{
private:
int value;
public:
void setvalue(int x){
this->value=x;
}
};

int main(){
A a;
a.setvalue(5);
return 0;
}
28. How do you allocate and deallocate memory in C++?

The new operator is used for memory allocation and deletes operator is used for
memory deallocation in C++.

For example-

int value=new int; //allocates memory for storing 1 integer

delete value; // deallocates memory taken by value

int *arr=new int[10]; //allocates memory for storing 10 int

delete []arr; // deallocates memory occupied by arr

Additional Resources

Practice Coding

C++ MCQ

C++ Tutorials

C Interview Questions

Difference Between C and C++

Difference Between C++ and Java

Online C++ Compiler

Features of C++

C++ Coding Questions

1.

Which operator can not be overloaded in C++?

+
::
*
++
2.

What will be the output of the following C++ program:

#include<iostream>
using namespace std;
int main(){
int a=1;
cout<<(a++)*(++a)<<endl;
return 0;
}
1
6
2
3
3.

What will be the value of x in the following C++ program

#include<iostream>
using namespace std;
int main(){
int a=1;
int x=(a++)++;
cout<<x<<endl;
return 0;
}
Compile Time Error
3
1
2
4.

What is an abstract class?

Class declared with abstract keyword

Class which has exactly one virtual function
Class which hash at least one pure virtual function
None of the above
5.

Consider the following C++ program

#include<iostream>
using namespace std;
class A{
public:
virtual void a()=0;
A(){
cout<<"A ";
}
};
class B: public A
{
public:
B(){
 cout<<"B ";
}
};

int main(){
A *a=new B();

return 0;
}

What will be output?

AB
BA
Compile-time error
None of the above
6.

What is the size of void in C++?

0
1
2
4
7.

If a base class and derived class each include a member function with the same
name. Function from which class will be called if called by an object of the derived
class

Member function of the base class

Member function of the derived class
Depend on the parameter
None of the above
8.

Memory used by an array is

Contiguous
Non-contiguous
Not determined
None of the above
9.

Which of the following statement is correct?

An object is an instance of the class
A friend function can access private members of a class
Members of the class are private by default
All of the above