Consider the following: This statement contains multiple << operators that are chained in a single instruction. It reads as if it’s a sentence. The insertion operator (<<) operators on a C-style string literal, an escape sequence, a class object and…
Consider the following: This is default-initialization. This defines the variable with a garbage value (not zero). If we print its contents, it will be whatever value is sitting at that memory address. Who knows! When you don’t initialize a variable,…
When printing text with std::cout, we often want to end the line. C++ gives us more than one way to do that, but they are not identical. \\n inserts a newline. std::endl inserts a newline and flushes the stream The usual case: print a newline Most…
If a variable is instantiated but not used, the compiler throws a warning. If this is intentional, C++17 introduced the [[maybe_unused]] attribute to convey this intent. This tells the compiler to not freak out when it sees an unused variable.…
Three things to take away: Definition, assignment, and initialization Defining a variable is called … definition. Giving a variable a value is called assignment. Initialization merges these two instructions into one statement. E.g. int x { 11 }; This is…
I’m a big advocate of comments. It conveys the programmer’s intent, which is very useful if you’re interpreting someone else’s code. Comments should explain intent Code shows what the program does. Comments should explain the intent behind the code. For…
C++ has multiple language standards: C++98, C++03, C++11, C++14, C++17, C++20, C++23, and newer standards in progress. When you configure a compiler, you are not just choosing “C++.” You are choosing which version of the language the compiler should accept.…
When the compiler finds a problem in your source code, it emits a diagnostic message. Some diagnostics stop the build immediately. Others are warnings: the compiler suspects something is wrong, but it can still produce an executable. Treating those warnings seriously…
A build configuration are settings used to build your project. It controls how the compiler, linker, and build system produce the final executable Three things to take away: The build configuration typically includes things like what the executable will be…
Here’s the flowchart from the previous nibble, we let off from Step 4. This Nibble continues from compilation and follows the program through linking, building, testing, and debugging. Three things to take away: Step 4 – Compile the program The…