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-
- STRUCTS
-
- struct sname { f1,...,fn; }; struct declaration
- new sname(e1, ..., en) struct instantiation
- s . fi ; struct component selection
- s . fi = e ; struct component update
-
- Structs are data structures whose components may be selected by name.
- The typical operations are declaration, instantiation, selection and
- update.
-
- A struct declaration is essentially a class declaration which defines
- the names of the components of the struct. The syntax of the declaration
- is best shown by an example.
-
- struct item {partno, code, quantity;};
-
- The above declaration defines item to be a struct with the (field)
- names partno, code and quantity. Various items can be instantiated
- (created) by providing the struct name and values for the fields.
- (but a struct component may not be a function).
-
- i1=new item(124,"receipt",15);
- i2=new item(126,"issue",7);
-
- Components of structs may be selected using a dot notation similar
- to records in Pascal and structures in C.
-
- i1.code; returns "receipt"
- i2.quantity; returns 7
-
- Component values may be updated using assignment and dot notation.
-
- i1.quantity=22; assigns 22 as the new value of the quantity
- field.
-