C++ Primer Plus

Stripped of the trimmings, the sample program shown in Listing 2.1 has the following fundamental structure:

int main()

{

    statements

    return 0;

}

These lines state that there is a function called main(), and they describe how the function behaves. Together they constitute a function definition. This definition has two parts: the first line, int main(), which is called the function header, and the portion enclosed in braces ({ and }), which is the function body. (A quick search on the Web reveals braces also go by other names, including “curly brackets,” “flower brackets,” “fancy brackets,” and “chicken lips.” However, the ISO Standard uses the term “braces.”) Figure 2.1 shows the main() function. The function header is a capsule summary of the function’s interface with the rest of the program, and the function body represents instructions to the computer about what the function should do. In C++ each complete instruction is called a statement. You must terminate each statement with a semicolon, so don’t omit the semicolons when you type the examples.

Figure 2.1. The main() function.

The final statement in main(), called a return statement, terminates the function. You’ll learn more about the return statement as you read through this chapter.

Statements and Semicolons

A statement represents an action to be taken. To understand your source code, a compiler needs to know when one statement ends and another begins. Some languages use a statement separator. FORTRAN, for example, uses the end of the line to separate one statement from the next. Pascal uses a semicolon to separate one statement from the next. In Pascal you can omit the semicolon in certain cases, such as after a statement just before an END, when you aren’t actually separating two statements. (Pragmatists and minimalists will disagree about whether can implies should.) But C++, like C, uses a semicolon as a terminator rather than as a separator. The difference is that a semicolon acting as a terminator is part of the statement rather than a marker between statements. The practical upshot is that in C++ you should never omit the semicolon.

The Function Header as an Interface

Right now the main point to remember is that C++ syntax requires you to begin the definition of the main() function with this header: int main(). This chapter discusses the function header syntax in more detail later, in the section “Functions,” but for those who can’t put their curiosity on hold, here’s a preview.

In general, a C++ function is activated, or called, by another function, and the function header describes the interface between a function and the function that calls it. The part preceding the function name is called the function return type; it describes information flow from a function back to the function that calls it. The part within the parentheses following the function name is called the argument list or parameter list; it describes information flow from the calling function to the called function. This general description is a bit confusing when you apply it to main() because you normally don’t call main() from other parts of your program. Typically, however, main() is called by startup code that the compiler adds to your program to mediate between the program and the operating system (Unix, Windows 7, Linux, or whatever). In effect, the function header describes the interface between main() and the operating system.

Consider the interface description for main(), beginning with the int part. A C++ function called by another function can return a value to the activating (calling) function. That value is called a return value. In this case, main() can return an integer value, as indicated by the keyword int. Next, note the empty parentheses. In general, a C++ function can pass information to another function when it calls that function. The portion of the function header enclosed in parentheses describes that information. In this case, the empty parentheses mean that the main() function takes no information, or in the usual terminology, main() takes no arguments. (To say that main() takes no arguments doesn’t mean that main() is an unreasonable, authoritarian function. Instead, argument is the term computer buffs use to refer to information passed from one function to another.)

In short, the following function header states that the main() function returns an integer value to the function that calls it and that main() takes no information from the function that calls it:

int main()

Many existing programs use the classic C function header instead:

main()     // original C style

Under classic C, omitting the return type is the same as saying that the function is type int. However, C++ has phased out that usage.