dot (.) operator in C++ Last Updated : 25 Sep, 2024 Comments Improve Suggest changes Like Article Like Report The C++ dot (.) operator is used for direct member selection via the name of variables of type class, struct, and union. It is also known as the direct member access operator. It is a binary operator that helps us to extract the value of the function associated with a particular object, structure, or union.Syntax:variable_name.member;variable_name: It's an instance of a class, structure, or union.member: member variables or member functions associated with the created object, structure, or union.Example: C++ // C++ Program to demonstrate the use of dot operator #include <iostream> using namespace std; class base { public: int var1; base(int x) { var1 = x; } void getValue() { cout << "Member Function Called" << endl; } }; // driver code int main() { // creating new object base b(222); // calling member function using dot(.) operator b.getValue(); // getting member variable cout << "Member Variable Value: " << b.var1; return 0; } OutputMember Function Called Member Variable Value: 222 C++ // C++ Function // tO demonstrate // Indirect member selection operator void addXtoList(Node* node, int x) { // Node is a class while (node != NULL) { node->data = node->data + x; node = node->next; } } Can the dot (.) operator be overloaded?No, the dot (.) operator cannot be overloaded in C++. Doing so will cause an error.Example: C++ // C++ program // illustrate Overloading // .(dot) operator #include <iostream>; using namespace std; class cantover { public: void fun(); }; // assume that you can overload . operator // Class X below overloads the . operator class X { cantover* p; // Overloading the . operator cantover& operator.() { return *p; } void fun(); }; void g(X& x) { // Now trying to access the fun() method // using the . operator // But this will throw an error // as we have overloaded the . operator above // Hence compiler won't allow doing so x.fun(); } Output:prog.cpp:11:20: error: expected type-specifier before '.' token cantover& operator.() ^prog.cpp:11:12: error: expected ';' at end of member declaration cantover& operator.() ^prog.cpp:11:20: error: expected unqualified-id before '.' token cantover& operator.() ^prog.cpp: In function 'void g(X&)':prog.cpp:15:7: error: 'void X::fun()' is private void fun(); ^prog.cpp:19:8: error: within this context x.fun(); // X::fun or cantover::fun or error? ^ Comment More infoAdvertise with us Next Article dot (.) operator in C++ C code_r Follow Improve Article Tags : Misc C++ cpp-operator Practice Tags : CPPcpp-operatorMisc Similar Reads Operators in C++ C++ operators are the symbols that operate on values to perform specific mathematical or logical computations on given values. They are the foundation of any programming language.Example:C++#include <iostream> using namespace std; int main() { int a = 10 + 20; cout << a; return 0; }Outpu 9 min read Conversion Operators in C++ In C++, the programmer abstracts real-world objects using classes as concrete types. Sometimes, it is required to convert one concrete type to another concrete type or primitive type implicitly. Conversion operators play an important role in such situations. It is similar to the operator overloading 4 min read Unary Operators In C++ In C++, unary operators are the type of operators that work on a single value (operand). They perform operations like changing a value's sign, incrementing or decrementing it by one, or obtaining its address.C++ has a total of 9 unary operators:Table of ContentIncrement Operator (++)Decrement Operat 6 min read Bitwise Operators in C++ In C+, Bitwise Operators are the operators that are used to perform bit-level operations on the integers. While performing these operations, integers are considered as sequences of binary digits. These operators are useful for low-level programming, system programming, and optimizing performance.C++ 6 min read list::operator= in C++ STL Lists are containers used in C++ to store data in a non contiguous fashion, Normally, Arrays and Vectors are contiguous in nature, therefore the insertion and deletion operations are costlier as compared to the insertion and deletion option in Lists. list::operator= This operator is used to assign n 2 min read Like