C++ is a strongly-typed language, which means that every variable must be declared with its data type before it can be used. C++ supports a variety of built-in data types that are used to represent different kinds of values in a program. These data types can be broadly classified into the following categories:
- Fundamental Types: Fundamental types represent the most basic types of data that can be used in a C++ program. C++ supports several fundamental types, including:
- bool: Represents Boolean values (true or false).
- char: Represents a single character value.
- int: Represents integer values.
- float: Represents floating-point values with single-precision.
- double: Represents floating-point values with double-precision.
- void: Represents the absence of a type. It is commonly used as a return type for functions that do not return a value.
- Enumeration Types: Enumeration types represent a set of named integer values. They are often used to create more readable code by assigning names to integer constants.
- Derived Types: Derived types are created by modifying fundamental types in some way. C++ supports several derived types, including:
- Array: Represents a fixed-size collection of values of the same type.
- Pointer: Represents a variable that holds the memory address of another variable.
- Reference: Represents an alias for another variable.
- Structure: Represents a collection of values of different types.
- Union: Represents a collection of values of different types that share the same memory space.
- User-defined Types: User-defined types are created by the programmer and can be based on any of the previously mentioned types.
- Class: Represents a user-defined type that can encapsulate data and functions.
- Enum class: Represents a strongly-typed enumeration type.
- Typedef: Represents a new name for an existing type.
Understanding these data types and their properties is crucial for writing efficient and bug-free C++ programs. By selecting the appropriate data type for a given task, you can optimize your code and ensure that it runs smoothly.