C++ Syntax: {..}

Description

Curly braces are used to delimit a compound statement For example:- if ( a > b ) { float_t temp = b; b = a; a = temp; }

Usage Notes

Compound statements allow the programmer to introduce a set of statements where the language syntax requires there only to be one.

The {..} is also central to the idea of scope In the example above, the variable temp was defined within the compound statement following the if; once execution leaves this compound statement the variable "goes out of scope" and is destroyed. Sometimes {..} is used to purely allow scratch variables to be created for short term work; it helps to follow one of the golden rules of programming:-

Keep it Local!

Go Back to the The C++ Crib Top Page

If you have any comments about this page please send them to Nick West