Previous chapters explained how computers cannot think for themselves and require an instruction set to tell them what to do. These instructions are written using a programming language, one of which is C++. In order to write C++ code, a text editor is required, and to assemble the code into something that can be executed, a compiler is required. Often, these components are grouped together in a single package called an integrated development environment (IDE). Chapter 4 explained how to obtain an IDE, namely Visual Studio .NET, Code::Blocks, and Dev C++. This chapter examines the basics of C++ with the assumption that the reader is in possession of at least one of these IDEs, or some other appropriate IDE. Specifically, this chapter explores the following subjects:
Hello World program
Preprocessor directives
Statements
Comments
Outputting data