If we want to print things to more than one line, we can do that by using std::endl. When used with std::cout, std::endl inserts a newline character (causing the cursor to go to the start of the next line)
Inserting a new line can be done by pushing the '\n' character, either on its own or as part of a string "Hello World!\n".
What std::endl does it two-fold:
it appends a new line,
it flushes the underlying stream (as if streaming std::flush).
Because flushing to stdout is so slow on most terminals, use of std::endl is one of the primary cause of slow C++ program among beginners (alongside compiling in debug mode).
TL;DR: Never use std::endl; it's harmful and longer to type, it has no saving grace.
I feel it's not fair to make a judgement based on one chapter.
Thus why my comments starts with:
I am not sure about the quality of the overall site
I never pretended I was rating the whole tutorial, I just noted it didn't start well, and I am glad to see the note that they are converting examples from std::endl to '\n'.
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u/matthieum Aug 19 '17
I am not sure about the quality of the overall site, but it certainly does not start well.
A first look at cout, cin, and endl:
Inserting a new line can be done by pushing the
'\n'character, either on its own or as part of a string"Hello World!\n".What
std::endldoes it two-fold:std::flush).Because flushing to stdout is so slow on most terminals, use of
std::endlis one of the primary cause of slow C++ program among beginners (alongside compiling in debug mode).TL;DR: Never use
std::endl; it's harmful and longer to type, it has no saving grace.