confused on what a void function is
Author
so as the title explains, am am confused as to what a void function/operator/command is, and what it does, can anyone help clarify it for me?
A "void function" is a function that does not actually return a value: a void return type means "nothing is returned".
Quote:Original post by zero_hour
So what purpose does it serve, and how would i use it in a program?
You use it when you care about a function for its side effects, and not for an eventual return value
#include <iostream>void print_rectangle(unsigned int width, unsigned int height){ for(int h=0; h<height; ++h) { for(int w=0; w<width; ++w) { std::cout << '*'; } std::cout << std::endl; }}int main(){ print_rectangle(10,5); print_rectangle(5,10); print_rectangle(10,10); print_rectangle(3,3); // and so on and so forth. for(int x=1;x<10;++x) print_rectangle(x,x);}
Author
So... The function itself doesn't return anything, but can be used kind of like a shortcut, instead of having to write the code out for each one of those examples?
In Fruny's example you can see how it makes the code more clear and maintainable.
If you wrote out the function separately for each print_rectangle(), not only would people not know what you were doing, but if you made a change to how you "print a rectangle" then you have to change each part.
With a function, you change it and it automatically "updates" for whenever you call it.
Although you shouldn't worry about it, calling a function has some "overhead" but you can put the keyword "inline" before the function to "suggest" to the compiler that it should be copied (as if you wrote it out everytime yourself!).
If you wrote out the function separately for each print_rectangle(), not only would people not know what you were doing, but if you made a change to how you "print a rectangle" then you have to change each part.
With a function, you change it and it automatically "updates" for whenever you call it.
Although you shouldn't worry about it, calling a function has some "overhead" but you can put the keyword "inline" before the function to "suggest" to the compiler that it should be copied (as if you wrote it out everytime yourself!).
Quote:Original post by zero_hour
So... The function itself doesn't return anything, but can be used kind of like a shortcut, instead of having to write the code out for each one of those examples?
That's essentially the purpose of functions, whether they return anything or not. They provide a means for you to organize your code in such a way that you do not need to repeat the same sequence of statements again and again. Put your statements in a function and you can call that instead.
Quote:so as the title explains, am am confused as to what a void function/operator/command is, and what it does, can anyone help clarify it for me?
A void function is a function which does something without returning a value, as Fruny already mentioned. You could use it like shown in the example below:
class myStringClass{ char *string; void print(); //this is a void function};void myStringClass::print(){ printf( "%s", string ); //display the string on the screen.}//exit and return nothing!Note that myStringClass::print() has no other purpose than displaying the string of its class on the screen. As you can see, there is no need for any value to be returned (yes, you could return a value whether the printf() function succeeded or not, but this isnt neccessary in general).
There are also other possible uses of the void-statement:
1) Functions which have no parameters at all, like myStringClass::print() in the example above, are sometimes defined like this:
myStringClass::print( void );
The void parameter simply means: there is no parameter at all. It it not neccessary to fill an empty parameter list with a void-statement, but some people do it.
2) If a pointers type is void*, the pointer can point to ANY datatype you like. A void pointer can be converted into any other type of data pointer. The following syntax is valid:
int i;char c;myStringClass string;void *PointerOfDoom; //void pointerPointerOfDoom = &i; //void pointer points to an integerPointerOfDoom = &c; //same void pointer points to a charPointerOfDoom = &string; //same void pointer points to a classAlthough it is sometimes useful to store/copy/move pointers without regard to the type it references, be aware that such operations can become VERY UNSAVE AND UNPREDICTABLE! For this reason, just dont use void pointers.
To sum it up, here is an excerpt from the MSDN Library:
Quote:void declarator
When used as a function return type, the void keyword specifies that the function does not return a value. When used for a function's parameter list, void specifies that the function takes no parameters. When used in the declaration of a pointer, void specifies that the pointer is "universal."
regards,
Phex
[EDIT: err... I was a bit slow, I started writing this when there was only 1 answer.]
Author
OK, So instead of a function taking an input, running it through its... function, and spitting out a new value, the void function serves primarily just to display lines of code that would be universal to many different inputs?
In addition, what are some other types of functions, besides the void function?
In addition, what are some other types of functions, besides the void function?
Quote:Original post by zero_hour
OK, So instead of a function taking an input, running it through its... function, and spitting out a new value, the void function serves primarily just to display lines of code that would be universal to many different inputs?
In addition, what are some other types of functions, besides the void function?
You may better take a tutorial or book first. that explained in more detail.
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