Struct and Class

[ntran]

Hi!

Can someone point out in which case i should use a struct in side a class?
Because, as far as I understand, they (struct and class) are more or less the same thing.

Thanks.

[dhayden]

The only difference between struct and class is that members of struct are public by default. Members of class are either private or protected, I can't remember which.

[Gkneeus]

Structs are used to group data together(good for passive data), that data is public by default, and a struct cannot use functions. Classes are more powerful, they also group data, their data members are private by default, and they can use member functions. The data in a class has a strong relationship with its member functions, this is important and structs don't have that. Some of these functions include, constructors and destructors. classes also allows for inheritance and polymorphism, and more importantly encapsulation.

Sometimes, when we use structs we are throwing away an important part of object oriented programming, encapsulation. Encapsulation is the process of hiding information. When we limit the action of freedom, we have a clearer picture on how to use that information so it can be used as intended. If we forget this important concept we are susceptible to data corruption. I would recommend that you use classes.

[Yay295]

In C++ they are identical except:
structs are public by default
classes are private by default

What Gkneeus said about structs not being able to use functions was true in C, not C++.

[Gkneeus]

Ya your right, thanks for clearing that up. I have been learning C lately and am getting them a little mixed up.