C++ Programming Basics

C++ Basics

• The only function that C++ programs must contain is main().

Code Blocks

• Code blocks in C++ are signaled by { and } punctuation.

Statements

• Every statement in C++ should end with a ; (semicolon).
• . (dot) is not used to end statements.

Comments

• Comments are used to document a program and improve its readability.
• Comments can be written using / */*, but not \.
• Comments are neglected by the compiler.
• Comments can be written anywhere in the program, not just at the top.

Variables

• A variable is a location in the computer's memory that may contain different values at various times throughout the execution of a program.
• Variable names can start with _ (underscore), but not with a number or space.
• A valid variable name is delta_univ, but not delte univ or delta-univ.

Data Types

• bool is a data type that can only be assigned an integer value of 1 or 0.
• float and double are valid data types, but real is not.
• char is a data type used to define a single character, and can be declared as char ch = 'Z';.

Variable Declaration

• A valid variable declaration is int a;, but not int a,, int a, or int a:.

Constants

• A correct declaration of a constant is const float PI = 3.14;, but not float PI 3.14; or # define PI = 3.14;.

Input/Output Objects

• The object used to print information on the screen is cout.
• The object used to input a value from the keyboard is cin.