Template Class in C++

A template is a simple and yet very powerful tool in C++. The simple idea is to pass data type as a parameter so that we don’t need to write the same code for different data types. For example, a software company may need sort() for different data types. Rather than writing and maintaining the multiple codes, we can write one sort() and pass the data type as a parameter.

For supporting templates, C++ adds two new keywords: ‘template’ and ‘typename’. The second keyword can always be replaced by the keyword ‘class’.

How templates work?
Like Macros, templates are expanded at compile time. The difference is, the compiler does type checking before template expansion. The idea is simple, source code contains only function/class, but compiled code may contain multiple copies of the same function/class.

Function Templates We write a generic function that can be used for different data types. Examples of function templates are sort(), max(), min(), printArray().

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

  

// One function works for all data types.  This would work

// even for user defined types if operator '>' is overloaded

template <typename T>

T myMax(T x, T y)

{

   return (x > y)? x: y;

}

  

int main()

{

  cout << myMax<int>(3, 7) << endl;  // Call myMax for int

  cout << myMax<double>(3.0, 7.0) << endl; // call myMax for double

  cout << myMax<char>('g', 'e') << endl;   // call myMax for char

  

  return 0;

}




Output:

7
7
g

Below is the program to implement the Bubble Sort using templates in C++:

// CPP code for bubble sort // using template function #include <iostream> using namespace std;     // A template function to implement bubble sort. // We can use this for any data type that supports // comparison operator < and swap works for it. template <class T> void bubbleSort(T a[], int n) {     for (int i = 0; i < n - 1; i++)         for (int j = n - 1; i < j; j--)             if (a[j] < a[j - 1])               swap(a[j], a[j - 1]); }     // Driver Code int main() {     int a[5] = {10, 50, 30, 40, 20};     int n = sizeof(a) / sizeof(a[0]);         // calls template function      bubbleSort(a, 5);         cout << " Sorted array : ";     for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)         cout << a[i] << " ";     cout << endl;       return 0; }

Output:

Sorted array : 10 20 30 40 50

Class Templates Like function templates, class templates are useful when a class defines something that is independent of the data type. It can be useful for classes like LinkedList, BinaryTree, Stack, Queue, Array, etc.

Following is a simple example of a template Array class.

#include <iostream> using namespace std;    template <typename T> class Array { private:     T *ptr;     int size; public:     Array(T arr[], int s);     void print(); };    template <typename T> Array<T>::Array(T arr[], int s) {     ptr = new T[s];     size = s;     for(int i = 0; i < size; i++)         ptr[i] = arr[i]; }    template <typename T> void Array<T>::print() {     for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)         cout<<" "<<*(ptr + i);     cout<<endl; }    int main() {     int arr[5] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};     Array<int> a(arr, 5);     a.print();     return 0; }

Output:

 1 2 3 4 5

Can there be more than one arguments to templates?
Yes, like normal parameters, we can pass more than one data type as arguments to templates. The following example demonstrates the same.

#include<iostream> using namespace std;    template<class T, class U> class A  {     T x;     U y; public:     A() {    cout<<"Constructor Called"<<endl;   } };    int main()  {    A<char, char> a;    A<int, double> b;    return 0; }

Output:

Constructor Called
Constructor Called

Can we specify a default value for template arguments?

Yes, like normal parameters, we can specify default arguments to templates. The following example demonstrates the same.

#include<iostream> using namespace std;    template<class T, class U = char> class A  { public:     T x;     U y;     A() {   cout<<"Constructor Called"<<endl;   } };    int main()  {    A<char> a;  // This will call A<char, char>       return 0; }

Output:

Constructor Called

What is the difference between function overloading and templates?

Both function overloading and templates are examples of polymorphism features of OOP. Function overloading is used when multiple functions do similar operations, templates are used when multiple functions do identical operations.

What happens when there is a static member in a template class/function?
Each instance of a template contains its own static variable. 

What is a template specialization?
Template specialization allows us to have different codes for a particular data type.

Can we pass nontype parameters to templates?
We can pass non-type arguments to templates. Non-type parameters are mainly used for specifying max or min values or any other constant value for a particular instance of a template. The important thing to note about non-type parameters is, they must be const. The compiler must know the value of non-type parameters at compile time. Because compiler needs to create functions/classes for a specified non-type value at compile time. In the below program, if we replace 10000 or 25 with a variable, we get a compiler error. 

Below is a C++ program.

// A C++ program to demonstrate working of non-type // parameters to templates in C++. #include <iostream> using namespace std;     template <class T, int max> int arrMin(T arr[], int n) {    int m = max;    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)       if (arr[i] < m)          m = arr[i];        return m; }     int main() {    int arr1[]  = {10, 20, 15, 12};    int n1 = sizeof(arr1)/sizeof(arr1[0]);        char arr2[] = {1, 2, 3};    int n2 = sizeof(arr2)/sizeof(arr2[0]);        // Second template parameter to arrMin must be a constant    cout << arrMin<int, 10000>(arr1, n1) << endl;    cout << arrMin<char, 256>(arr2, n2);    return 0; }

Output:

10
1