What is the purpose of operator overloading in C++?

The purpose of overloading operators in C++ is to allow users to customize the behavior of operators for their own classes or structures. By overloading operators, it is possible to make custom data types perform operations like built-in types and define different operations as needed.

The purpose of operator overloading includes:

1. Provide a more intuitive and natural grammar, allowing users to operate on custom types of objects in a way similar to built-in types.
2. Provide more flexible operations so that objects of custom types can perform specific operations, not just limited to those supported by built-in types.
3. Enhancing the readability and maintainability of the code can make it clearer and more easily understandable.
4. This can enhance the reusability of code and reduce the workload of writing duplicate code.
5. By overloading operators, custom types can participate in standard library algorithms and containers, providing a more convenient way to use them.

It is important to note that operator overloading should follow the semantics of regular operators as much as possible, while maintaining consistency. Excessive use of operator overloading may result in code that is difficult to understand and debug, so it should be used with caution, and clear documentation and comments should be provided when necessary.