Dev Blog

Summary ​

Conclusions ​

C++ lets you create native programs and use different ways of organizing code. The edition of the standard, the compiler version, and the project settings are different characteristics. The examples in this topic require a current MSVC, a standard library with std::println, the /std:c++latest mode, and UTF-8. The path with the <print> header works both in a Visual Studio project and in a simple cl command; the import std; path requires preparing the module.

Preprocessing, compilation, and linking turn source code into an executable file. A successful build checks only part of correctness: you need to compare the result with the expected one. Git stores clear steps in the development of a program, and .gitignore separates source materials from build outputs. Publishing to GitHub complements the local history but doesn’t replace it.

Self-check questions ​

  1. Which problems motivate the use of C++, and what responsibilities does the developer have?
  2. How does the C++ standard differ from MSVC and Visual Studio?
  3. Why doesn’t /std:c++latest guarantee full support for C++26?
  4. Which standard do std::println and the std module belong to?
  5. What is a translation unit, and why do you need a linker?
  6. How do .cpp, .obj, .exe, and .vcxproj files differ in purpose?
  7. Which Installer workload is required for a C++ console project?
  8. Why should properties be checked for all configurations?
  9. What do int, main, std::, and return 0 mean in the first program?
  10. How does #include <print> differ from import std; when building?
  11. How do {:<28} and {:.2f} affect the output?
  12. How does a compilation error differ from a linker error and a logic error?
  13. Why do you need Developer PowerShell, and what does $LASTEXITCODE show?
  14. How do saving a file, git add, git commit, and git push differ?
  15. Which project files should be stored in Git, and what is .gitignore for?

Review questions for the lab ​

  1. What stages does a .cpp file go through before an executable file appears?
  2. What are <print>, the main function, and return 0 needed for?
  3. How does the /std:c++latest mode differ from full support for the standard?
  4. What do the width, the alignment, and .2f denote in a format string?
  5. Why doesn’t changing the source code without rebuilding change the .exe?
  6. How do Debug and Release differ, and why can their text output be the same?
  7. What is /utf-8 used for, and what else affects how the console looks?
  8. How do the working directory, the index, and a local Git commit differ?
  9. Which project files should be stored in Git, and which should be ignored?
  10. Where does git restore -- main.cpp get the contents from, and what should you check before restoring a file?