Iostreams Tutorial

This tutorial will guide you through the basics of using iostreams in C++. iostreams provide a convenient way to perform input and output operations in your programs.

Overview

• Input Streams: Used for reading data from various sources, such as the keyboard, files, or network sockets.
• Output Streams: Used for writing data to various destinations, such as the screen, files, or network sockets.
• Stream Operations: Various operations that can be performed on streams, such as reading, writing, formatting, and seeking.

Getting Started

Before you start, make sure you have a C++ compiler installed on your system. You can use any popular compiler like GCC or Clang.

Basic Syntax

#include <iostream>

int main() {
    std::cout << "Hello, World!" << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

In the above code, std::cout is an output stream object that writes to the standard output (usually the screen). std::endl is a manipulator that inserts a newline character and flushes the output buffer.

Reading Input

To read input from the user, you can use the std::cin object, which is an input stream object.

#include <iostream>

int main() {
    int number;
    std::cout << "Enter a number: ";
    std::cin >> number;
    std::cout << "You entered: " << number << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

In the above code, std::cin is used to read an integer from the user and store it in the number variable.

Writing Output

To write output to the screen, you can use the std::cout object.

#include <iostream>

int main() {
    std::cout << "This is a line of text." << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

In the above code, std::cout is used to write a line of text to the screen.

Formatting Output

You can format the output using various manipulators provided by the <iomanip> header.

#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>

int main() {
    int number = 12345;
    std::cout << "Number: " << std::setw(10) << number << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

In the above code, std::setw(10) is used to set the field width to 10 characters, and the number is left-aligned within the field.

More Information

For more information on iostreams, you can visit the C++ Standard Library documentation.

iostreams