Embedded main()

[Auto]

Can the main() call be embedded within a class? At work yesterday I caught a snippet somewhere, and I noticed main() was inside a class, something like the following:

<strong>class</strong> personnel
{
     <strong>void</strong> in_prev_data();
     <strong>void</strong> in_new_data();

     <strong>int</strong> main( <strong>int</strong> argc, <strong>const char</strong> **argv );

     <strong>void</strong> process_data();
     <strong>void</strong> pack_data();
     <strong>void</strong> save_data();
};

Wish I had written the address down, so I could of duplicated it here exactly as it was, but that code should be close. Now if this embedding is possible, is someone able to clear it up a little for me, about how it works?

[Narue]

>Can the main() call be embedded within a class?
You need to make the distinction between a function declaration, a function definition, and a function call. What your example does is declare a member function with the same signature as the global main. However, it's not the same function as the global main. Even if you do this, you still need to define a global main as the entry point for your program:

#include <iostream>

class A {
public:
  int main() { std::cout<<"Embedded main"<<std::endl; return 0; }
};

int main()
{
  std::cout<<"Global main"<<std::endl;
  A().main();
}

The reason this is legal is because the member function main is in a different namespace than the global main, so they can both coexist in the same program. How smart this is is debatable though since it can cause confusion.

[Auto]

Okay, didn't look at it that way. Since it is a member of a class it's just another name for an object's function. I don't plan on implementing this type of funciton naming, it just caught my attention as soon as I came across it.

Thanks