CSCI 261 - Programming Concepts

Focus on defining a Date and an Event class from scratch.

Consider using NotePad or WordPad on your computer to write your code for this lab. Once you feel good about what you've written, then copy the code into your project. Doing this will help you see where you might make mistakes on the exam!

You should write a main.cpp that tests each feature of your class works as expected. You will need to submit your class declaration files, your class definition files, and your main.cpp file for this lab.

We know you, as a Mines student, have a busy social life. Wouldn't it be great to have a program that helped you keep track of all your important dates (as in month, day, and year)? Write a Date class to represent this "thing" to the computer. What properties do you need to represent a date? Make these properties private to your class. (Again, you should know why private makes sense; ask it you don't!) In all functions that modify data members, you should always ensure the values being set make sense. (You do not need to worry about leap years.) Also, use a private helper function wherever one makes sense. Functions you should include in your class:

• A default constructor that sets the date to 12/30/1950 (an extremely important date in our history).
• A parameterized constructor that allows a user to enter a new date, such as "8,1,1876" (another extremely important date in our history).
• Appropriate getter and setter functions. (Perhaps one setter function makes the most sense?)
• A private validate function that checks if the object is currently in a good state (e.g., months are 1-12, days are 1-31, year can't be negative, etc. Don't worry about having the correct number of days in a month or leap years.) and, if not, resets the date object to the default values. This function should be called by all functions that modify the date object.
• A boolean member function that returns whether the callee is earlier than the target date argument passed.

Extra credit points possible if (1) your default constructor outputs a "shout out" that illustrates you understand the significance of 12/30/1950 and (2) your parameterized constructor outputs a "shout out" that illustrates you understand the significance of 8/1/1876.

Now that we have a way to represent a calendar date, we need a way to make entries into a calendar. Create a new class called Event that contains a data member of type Date created above. In addition, add data members to track the event title and location. Functions you should include in your class:

• A default constructor that sets the date to a default date (with the corresponding title and location for extra credit).
• A parameterized constructor that allows a user to enter a new date object, title, and location (such as "8/1/1876" and its corresponding info for extra credit). The parameterized constructor should operate on a Date object and no longer the individual month, day, year pieces.
• Appropriate getter and setter functions. The Date setter should operate on a Date object and no longer the individual month, day, year pieces.
• A print function that prints the details in the form: MM/DD/YYYY: Title (location).