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Home Variables and Types Outputting Variables
See also: Return Values, Variables 
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Outputting Variables

You can output the value of a variable using the same commands we used to output simple values.

  int hour, minute;
  char colon;

  hour = 11;
  minute = 59;
  colon = ':';

  cout << "The current time is ";
  cout << hour;
  cout << colon;
  cout << minute;
  cout << endl;

This program creates two integer variables named hour and minute, and a character variable named colon. It assigns appropriate values to each of the variables and then uses a series of output statements to generate the following:

The current time is 11:59

When we talk about "outputting a variable," we mean outputting the value of the variable. To output the name of a variable, you have to put it in quotes. For example: cout << "hour";

As we have seen before, you can include more than one value in a single output statement, which can make the previous program more concise:

  int hour, minute;
  char colon;

  hour = 11;
  minute = 59;
  colon = ':';

  cout << "The current time is " << hour << colon << minute << endl;

On one line, this program outputs a string, two integers, a character, and the special value endl. Very impressive!
Home Variables and Types Outputting Variables

Last Update: 2005-11-21