Unlocking the Power of Characters in C++
When working with characters in C++, it’s essential to understand the intricacies of the char keyword. A single character variable can store only one character at a time, making it a fundamental building block of programming.
The Basics of Character Variables
Let’s dive into an example to illustrate this concept. Suppose we declare a character type variable named ch and assign it the character ‘h’. What happens behind the scenes?
cpp
char ch = 'h';
cout << ch;
Output: h
Notice that we use single quotation marks to enclose the character. If we were to use double quotation marks, it would be treated as a string instead.
The Secret Life of ASCII Values
But here’s the fascinating part: when we assign a character to a char variable, it’s not the character itself that’s stored, but its corresponding ASCII value. For instance, the ASCII value of ‘h’ is 104. This means that the variable ch actually holds the value 104, not the character ‘h’.
| Character | ASCII Value |
| — | — |
| A | 65 |
| Z | 90 |
| a | 97 |
| z | 122 |
| 5 | 53 |
Unleashing the Power of ASCII Values
We can take advantage of this property to get the ASCII value of a character or even assign an ASCII value to a char variable. Let’s explore some examples:
“`cpp
char ch = ‘h’;
cout << int(ch); // Output: 104
char ch = 104;
cout << ch; // Output: h
“`
Mastering C++ Escape Sequences
But what about special characters like single quotes, double quotes, and backslashes? These characters have special meanings in C++, making them tricky to use directly in our code. That’s where escape sequences come in – special codes that allow us to represent these characters.
| Escape Sequence | Character |
| — | — |
| \’ | Single quote |
| \” | Double quote |
| \ | Backslash |
| \t | Horizontal tab |
| \n | New line |
With escape sequences, we can write these special characters as they are. Here’s an example:
“`cpp
char ch = ‘\”;
cout << ch; // Output: ‘
char ch = ‘\t’;
cout << ch; // Output: [Horizontal tab]
“`
By harnessing the power of char variables, ASCII values, and escape sequences, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a C++ master.