Structures

C++ Structures

C++ Structures, also known as user-defined data types, are used to represent complex data types. A structure is a collection of related data items that can be manipulated as a single unit. Structures are used to represent real-world entities, such as a student record, employee record, or any other data that needs to be stored in a structured way.

Structure Syntax

The syntax for declaring a structure is as follows:

struct struct_name {
  data_type member_name;
  data_type member_name;
  // ...
  data_type member_name;
};

where struct_name is the name of the structure, data_type is the type of data stored in each member, and member_name is the name of each member in the structure.

Accessing Structure Members

To access the individual members of a structure, use the dot (.) operator. For example, if we have a structure called student that contains name, age, and grade members, we can access those members as follows:

student.name;
student.age;
student.grade;

Initializing a Structure

A structure can be initialized using the following syntax:

struct_name structure_name = {value1, value2, ..., valueN};

where struct_name is the name of the structure, structure_name is the name of the structure instance, and value1, value2, ..., valueN are the values of the structure members.

Passing a Structure as an Argument

Structures can be passed as arguments to a function using the following syntax:

function_name(struct struct_name structure_name);

where function_name is the name of the function, struct_name is the name of the structure, and structure_name is the name of the structure instance.

Using Structures with Classes

Structures can be used with classes in C++. A structure can be declared as a member of a class, and a class can contain member functions to manipulate the data stored in the structure.

Conclusion

C++ Structures are a powerful tool for organizing and representing complex data types. Structures can be declared, initialized, passed as arguments to functions, and used as members of classes.