This is an extra credit program. Depending on the work you put into it, it could be worth up to an entire letter grade. This is your opportunity to make up points lost on earlier assignments or on the tests.

• Building classes
• Operator overloading
• Templates
• Putting it all together

The array type in C++ is rather rudimentary. Among other problems, it does not protect the user from exceeding the array bounds; indexing of array elements must start at 0; arrays cannot be assigned to each other directly with an assignment statement; the contents of an entire array cannot be printed out with one cout statement. In this assignment, you will create a template for an array class that addresses these issues.

Write a class template for an enhanced array class that will expand the capabilities of C++ arrays to include the following:

• Prohibits the user from accessing out of bounds array elements (issues an error statement and does nothing).
• Allows indexing of the array to start and end at any int value (start must come before end).
• Overloads the = operator to allow assigning one array to another of equal or longer length.
• Overloads the << operator to allow a nicely formatted output of the contents of the entire array.

Implementation of your class is entirely up to you. You may use one- or two-dimensional arrays, linked lists, or any other implementation that you come up with. Consider your design carefully before you start coding. Explain clearly what you are doing and how. Document everything in a separate file that will be handed in with your program.

After you have written your class, you will need to test it. Write a test main() that illustrates the use of each of the methods of your class at least once, to make sure that all the features work correctly.

• README – a file containing an explanation of your design and implementation.
• array.h – header file for the Array class
• array.cc – implementation file for the Array class
• testarray.cc – main program that shows the use of all program features.
• A makefile that will compile the program when the user types "make", creating an executable called "run".

You may add as many features as you want to your Array class. There are many bells and whistles that could be added to such a class to enhance its usability. The more you do, the more points you can earn.

However, please keep in mind the following points:

1. If it’s not documented, it isn’t there
2. If it’s not tested in the main, it isn’t there