Byte-Sized-Chunks: Operator Overloading in C++

Like a gruff uncle, C++ seems intimidating, when its just being helpful. These examples will help you understand that.

Let's parse that.

• C++ seems intimidating because all too often, what you see is not what you get.

• Usually, that's because C++ is trying to help you, but you don't realise that. C++ is incredibly deep, and it sometimes struggles to get you - the programmer - to understand what it's saying

• These examples will help. Each is self-contained, has its source code attached, and gets across a specific C++ use-case. Each example is simple, but not simplistic.

Operator overloading is a particularly complicated topic - C++ is virtually alone in the ubiquity of overloaded operators. Make sure this doesn't trip you up.

• What is operator overloading? Understand internal operators, defined as member functions of a class vs external operators defined as global functions. External operators are commonly friend functions of the class on which they operate.
• Internal or External? When would you choose to have an internal operator implementation vs an external operator implementation? Sometimes you don't have a choice!
• The += operator
• The assignment operator
• Pre- and Post-Increment
• Streams and the >> and << operators