Summary

In this chapter, we saw the basic structure and syntax of the language. We started with an overview of the compilation model, the process of transforming C++ source code into an executable program. We wrote, compiled, and ran our first program, a simple main function that successfully returns an exit/return code.

We described the built-in arithmetic types that the language offers.

We learned how to declare and define variable names, and what the difference is between references and pointers. We also saw the use of the const qualifier and its advantages.

Furthermore, we talked about control flow statements and how to exploit them to perform more complex actions.

Finally, we presented arrays and multidimensional arrays, and the operation to perform to initialize them and access their values. In the next chapter, we will learn what functions in C++ are, and how and why we should use them in our code.