Simple Vs Structured Data Types

• As we have seen, simple data types hold only one value per instance.
  • They can not reasonably be broken down any further.
• A structured data type is a collection of data.
  • It is made up of one or more simple data types.
• The string is an example of a structured data type
  • A collection of characters
  • As well as an integer size.
• A stream is also a structured data type.
  • It has a "pointer" into the file, ie where the next read/write will occur
  • It has a collection of flags that describe the state of the stream.
    • In the documentation this is described as a set of bits.
    • Note file.eof reference
    • "Note that the value returned by this function depends on the last operation performed on the stream (and not on the next)."
    • EOF is only true AFTER an attempt to read past the end of the file, not before.
    • It is a test like, fail or bad, not a predictor.
• In order to progress to build larger and more complex problems we need to learn how to create more complex data types.
  • These include
    • Structures struct
    • Arrays
    • Classes class
    • Unions union
• We also have two more simple types
  • Pointers - a way to access memory in a different way
  • References - the way you pass parameters, and other things.