Structures

So far, we’ve worked with single variables (like an int) or collections of the same type (Arrays). But what if you want to represent a "Student" who has a name (string), an age (int), and a GPA (double)?

A Structure (or struct) allows you to group different data types together under one name. It is a user-defined data type that represents a "record."

1. Defining and Using a Struct

• Members: The variables inside the struct are called members or fields.

• The Dot Operator (.): You use a period to access specific members of a struct variable.

Code Example: Managing a Game Character

This program defines a Character struct and creates a variable to store its stats.

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;

// 1. Defining the Structure (The Blueprint)
struct Player {
    string name;
    int level;
    float health;
    bool isAlive;
};

int main() {
    // 2. Creating an instance of the struct
    Player player1;

    // 3. Assigning values using the Dot (.) Operator
    player1.name = "DragonSlayer";
    player1.level = 15;
    player1.health = 95.5f;
    player1.isAlive = true;

    // 4. Accessing values
    cout << "--- Player Stats ---" << endl;
    cout << "Name: " << player1.name << endl;
    cout << "Level: " << player1.level << endl;
    cout << "Health: " << player1.health << endl;

    // 5. Array of structs (Creating a team)
    Player team[2] = {
        {"Archer", 10, 80.0, true},
        {"Mage", 12, 60.5, true}
    };

    cout << "\nTeammate 1: " << team[0].name << " (Lvl " << team[0].level << ")" << endl;

    return 0;
}

Why use struct?

• Organization: It keeps related data together, making the code much easier to read.

• Function Parameters: Instead of passing 5 different variables to a function, you can just pass one struct.

Pro Tip: Structs vs. Classes

In C++, a struct is almost identical to a class. The only major difference is that by default, everything in a struct is public (anyone can access it), while in a class, everything is private (hidden).