what is ++i and i++

Explanation of ++i and i++

The expressions ++i and i++ are both increment operators in C++. They are used to increase the value of a variable by 1. However, there is a difference in how they are evaluated.

• ++i is the pre-increment operator. It increments the value of i and then returns the incremented value. This means that the value of i is increased before any other operation is performed. Here is an example:

cpp int i = 5; int result = ++i;

In this example, the value of i is incremented to 6, and then the value of result is assigned as 6. So, result will be 6.

• i++ is the post-increment operator. It increments the value of i, but it returns the original value of i before the increment. This means that the value of i is increased after any other operation is performed. Here is an example:

cpp int i = 5; int result = i++;

In this example, the value of i is assigned to result as 5, and then the value of i is incremented to 6. So, result will be 5.

It's important to note that the behavior of ++i and i++ can be different when used in more complex expressions or in combination with other operators. However, in simple cases like the ones shown above, the difference lies in the order of the increment operation and the value returned.