I. Glossary of Terms

This section provides an overview of terminology used in this book. For more detailed information on these topics, see the index.

abstract class: A class that cannot be used to create objects but that may still be useful as a general pattern (in other words, interface) for other classes. An abstract class has at least one pure virtual function. Such a function is declared virtual and uses the syntax “= 0;” for its implementation.

access level: The level—private, protected, or public—that determines who or what can access members of a given class. Public members are freely accessible outside the class (although references to such members have to be properly qualified). Private members are accessible within the class, but never ...

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