C++ Inline Functions

Inline function in C++ is a powerful concept that is commonly used alongside classes. For an inline function, the compiler places a copy of the code of that function at each point where the function is called at the compile time. 

In other for you to inline a function, do the following:

• place the keyword inline before the function name and 
• define the function before any calls are made to the function. 

In cases where the defined function is more than a line, the compiler can ignore the inline qualifier.

Below are some of the features of inline functions: 

• Any purported changes to an inline function might require all clients of the function to be recompiled because the compiler would need to replace all the code once again, or else it will continue with old functionality. 
• The definition of a function in a class definition is an inline function definition, even without the use of the inline specifier. 

Syntax:

inline return-type function-name(arguments) 

{ 

     return ( conditions ); 

}

Below is an example, that makes use of an inline function to return maximum of two numbers: 

Example:

#include <iostream>
 

inline int Max(int x, int y)
{
   return (x > y)? x : y;
}

// Main function for the program
int main( )
{

   cout << "Max (30,40): " << Max(30,40) << endl;
   cout << "Max (0,100): " << Max(0,100) << endl;
   cout << "Max (700,10): " << Max(700,10) << endl;
   return 0;
}