Tag: What is the use of abstract class in C++?

Abstract Data type (ADT) is a type (or class) for objects whose behaviour is defined by a set of value and a set of operations . The definition of ADT only mentions what operations are to be performed but not how these operations will be implemented.

The purpose of an abstract class (often referred to as an ABC) is to provide an appropriate base class from which other classes can inherit . Abstract classes cannot be used to instantiate objects and serves only as an interface. Attempting to instantiate an object of an abstract class causes a compilation error.

An abstract class is a class that is designed to be specifically used as a base class . An abstract class contains at least one pure virtual function. You declare a pure virtual function by using a pure specifier ( = 0 ) in the declaration of a virtual member function in the class declaration.