What are some examples of operator overloading in C++?

What are some examples of operator overloading in C++?

Operator overloading in C++ allows you to redefine the way operators work for user-defined types. For example, you can overload the '+' operator to add two objects of a class.

Can you show me a simple example of overloading the '+' operator?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

class Complex {
public:
    float real, imag;
    Complex(float r, float i) : real(r), imag(i) {}
    Complex operator+(const Complex& other) {
        return Complex(real + other.real, imag + other.imag);
    }
};

In this example, the '+' operator is overloaded to add two Complex numbers.

What about overloading the '<<' operator for output?

You can overload the '<<' operator like this:

#include <iostream>
class Complex {
public:
    float real, imag;
    Complex(float r, float i) : real(r), imag(i) {}
    friend std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, const Complex& c) {
        os << c.real << " + " << c.imag << "i";
        return os;
    }
};

This allows you to print Complex objects using std::cout.

Are there any limitations to operator overloading?

Yes, there are some limitations. For instance, you cannot change the precedence of operators or overload certain operators like '::', '.', and '?:'. It's also important to ensure that the overloaded operators behave intuitively.