function definition return type?

In the following code (a function definition) CurrencyList is the name of a class. Is the first CurrencyList in the code a return type? If so, what does it mean for the return type to be of a class type? Does it mean an object of the class will be returned?

Code:

---

CurrencyList CurrencyList :: perfectChange(int amountToChange) const
{
  int amt(size_);
  for (int i = 0; i<size_; i++)
    divMod(amountToChange, denom_[i].value, amt[i], amountToChange);
  return CurrencyList(amt);
}

---

yes your understanding is correct.

If so, what does it mean for the return type to be of a class type?

The same thing it does as for a basic type like int. For instance, if your function returned an int, you would need to do something like this:

int result=my_func();

So, if the return type is CurrencyList, then you need to do something like this:

CurrencyList myCL = my_func();

Then you can use the variable myCL to access the member functions of the CurrencyList class. If the class contained a function showList() that displayed the data members, you could do this:

myCL.showList();

Does it mean an object of the class will be returned?

Yep.