The concept of overloading functions is widely understood in programming, but what happens when we attempt to overload the main() method? In languages like C++ and Java, the main() function holds a special place as the entry point for program execution. While it isn’t a reserved word, its behavior and limitations make overloading outside a class tricky.
In this blog, we’ll explore how the main() method can theoretically be overloaded, why direct overloading outside of a class leads to compilation errors, and how encapsulating it within a class changes the dynamics. Through code examples, we’ll uncover the nuances of memory allocation, program entry points, and the proper structure for implementing such a technique.
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main(int a)
{
cout<<a<<endl;
}
int main(char a)
{
cout<<a<<endl;
}
int main(char *s)
{
cout<<s<<endl;
}
int main()
{
main(5);
main(‘s’);
main(“yuva”);
return 0;
}
The above program will not work because the memory is not allocated, because it was not declared inside the class.
Note that main is not reserved word in programming languages like C, C++, Java;
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
class Example
{
public:
int main(int a)
{
cout<<a<<endl;
}
int main(char a)
{
cout<<a<<endl;
}
int main(char *s)
{
cout<<s<<endl;
}
};
int main()
{
Example ex;
ex.main(5);
ex.main(‘s’);
ex.main(“yuva”);
return 0;
}
The above program works because the main method is created in the class so memory is allocated .
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