Creating Custom Operators

1#include <cmath>
2#include <iostream>
3
4struct Vector3 {
5  float x, y, z;
6
7  // We can overload existing operators
8  Vector3 operator+(const Vector3& other) const {
9    return Vector3{
10      x + other.x, y + other.y, z + other.z
11    };
12  }
13
14  // But we can't create a ** operator for power
15  // Instead, we create a named function
16  Vector3 pow(float exponent) const {
17    return Vector3{
18      std::pow(x, exponent),
19      std::pow(y, exponent),
20      std::pow(z, exponent)
21    };
22  }
23};
24
25int main() {
26  Vector3 vec{2.0f, 3.0f, 4.0f};
27
28  // This works - using existing operator
29  Vector3 sum{vec + vec};
30
31  // This won't compile - ** isn't a valid operator
32  Vector3 powered{vec ** 2.0f};  
33
34  // Instead, use the named function
35  Vector3 squared{vec.pow(2.0f)};
36
37  std::cout << "Squared: " << squared.x
38    << ", " << squared.y
39    << ", " << squared.z << "\n";
40}