From
the word overloading we mean that to give some new meaning to a thing.
In this process the old meaning of the thing is not changed.
Thus in the process of overloading we can give new meaning to the
existing operators. The existing operators like +, - etc are made to be
used for the predefined data types like int, float etc. But they are
not made to operate on objects. We will have to overload them so that
they can be used with the objects in the same way as they are used with
predefined data types. Thus the original meaning of the operators is
that they are made to be used with predefined data types but by
overloading them we can make them work with objects and thus we are
giving them a new meaning.
There are certain operators that can not be overloaded. These are:
1. Class member access operators- ., .* .
2. Scope Resolution Operator- ::
3. Sizeof operator: sizeof
4. Conditional Operator: ?:
For overloading the operators a special function is used. This function
is called ‘Operator Function’. It can be the member function of the
class or the friend function. The number of arguments to be passed to
this function depends on two things- 1. Function is member function of
the class or friend function 2. The operator to be overloaded is unary
operator or binary operator.
For overloading the operators a special function is used. This function is called
‘Operator Function’. It can be the member function of the class or the friend function.
The number of arguments to be passed to this function depends on two things- 1.
Function is member function of the class or friend function 2. The operator to be
overloaded is unary operator or binary operator.
Operator overloading using member function
Operator overloading using
friend function