Functions

Focus on Software Engineering:

Modular Programming

• A program may be broken up into manageable functions

A function is a collection of statements that performs a specific task.
So far you have experienced functions in two ways:
1. you have created a function named main in every program you’ve written,
and
2. you have used library functions such as pow, setw, system
Divide and Conquer

• Functions are commonly used to break a problem down into small

manageable pieces.
• Instead of writing one long function that contains all of the
statements necessary to solve a problem, several small functions that
each solve a specific part of the problem can be written
If we use
functions
How
would be
the main
modified?
Reusability
• Another reason to write functions is that they simplify programs. If a
specific task is performed in several places in a program, a function
can be written once to perform that task, and then be executed
anytime it is needed.
• This benefit of using functions is known as code reuse because you
are writing the code to perform a task once and then reusing it each
time you need to perform the task.
Defining and Calling Functions

• A function call is a statement that causes a function to execute.

• A function definition contains the statements that make up the
function.
void Functions
It isn’t necessary for all functions to return a value, however. Some
functions simply perform one or more statements, which follows
terminate. These are called void functions.

The displayMessage function, which follows, is an example.

void displayMessage()
{
cout << "Hello from the function displayMessage.\n";
}
Calling a Function

• A function is executed when it is called. Function main is called

automatically when a program starts, but all other functions must be
executed by function call statements.
• When a function is called, the program branches to that function and
executes the statements in its body
Function Prototypes

• A function prototype eliminates the need to place a function

definition before all calls to the function.
Sending Data into a Function

• When a function is called, the program may send values into the
function.
Values that are sent into a function are called arguments.
result = pow(2.0, 4.0);
void displayValue(int num)
{
cout << "The value is " << num << endl;
}
The return Statement

• The return statement causes a function to end immediately.

• When the last statement in a void function has finished executing, the
function terminates and the program returns to the statement
following the function call. It’s possible, however, to force a function
to return before the last statement has been executed.
• When the return statement is encountered, the function immediately
terminates and control of the program returns to the statement that
called the function.
Returning a Value from a Function

• A function may send a value back to the part of the program that
called the function.
Defining a Value-Returning Function

int sum(int num1, int num2)

{
int result;
result = num1 + num2;
return result;
}
Calling a Value-Returning Function
Using Functions
Returning a Boolean Value

bool isValid(int number)

{
bool status;
if (number >= 1 && number <= 100)
status = true;
else
status = false;
return status;
}
Overloading Functions
int sum(int num1, int num2)
int sum(int num1, int num2, int num3)
int sum(int num1, int num2, int num3, int num4)