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Arrow Operator as Class Member Access Operator in C++
Learn: How to use Arrow Operator instead of Class Member Access Operator in C++ programming language, how to access members of a class through object pointer in C++?
Previously, we have discussed about Class Member Access Operator in C++ , which is used to access public members of a class.
To access public members of a class, we use object_name.member_name.
Accessing Class Members with Pointer to an Object
If you have a pointer to an object and want to access the class members, you can access them by using combination of two operators Asterisk (*) and Dot (.) operator.
Syntax:
(*object_pointer_name).member_name;
Consider the given class declaration
class sample
{
private:
int a;
public:
int b;
void init(int a)
{this->a = a;}
void display()
{cout<<"a: "<<a<<endl;}
};
Consider the main(), here we are accessing the member function by using combination of * and . Operators:
int main()
{
//pointer to an object declaration
sample *sam = new sample();
//value assignment to a and back
(*sam).init(100);
(*sam).b=200;
//printing the values
(*sam).display();
cout<<"b: "<<(*sam).b<<endl;
return 0;
}
Arrow Operator (->) instead Asterisk (*) and Dot (.) Operator
We can use Arrow Operator (->) to access class members instead of using combination of two operators Asterisk (*) and Dot (.) operator, Arrow operator in also known as “Class Member Access Operator” in C++ programming language.
Syntax:
object_pointer_name -> member_name;
Consider the main(), here we are accessing the members using Arrow Operator
int main()
{
//pointer to an object declaration
sample *sam = new sample();
//value assignment to a and back
sam->init(100);
sam->b=200;
//printing the values
sam->display();
cout<<"b: "<<sam->b<<endl;
return 0;
}
Here is the complete program
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
class sample
{
private:
int a;
public:
int b;
void init(int a)
{this->a = a;}
void display()
{cout<<"a: "<<a<<endl;}
};
int main()
{
//pointer to an object declaration
sample *sam = new sample();
cout<<"Using * and . Operators\n";
//value assignment to a and back
(*sam).init(100);
(*sam).b=200;
//printing the values
(*sam).display();
cout<<"b: "<<(*sam).b<<endl;
cout<<"Using Arrow Operator (->)\n";
//value assignment to a and back
sam->init(100);
sam->b=200;
//printing the values
sam->display();
cout<<"b: "<<sam->b<<endl;
return 0;
}
Output
Using * and . Operators
a: 100
b: 200
Using Arrow Operator (->)
a: 100
b: 200