Thread: printf vs cout

I think C++ Cout and stuff was made to make it easier for new users to learn and understand programming. Also convenience, easier to type it out.

But the C library printf, sprintf, and the tons of other functions, are extremely useful for dealing with chars and even for Win32 sometimes. They are definitely better.

Originally Posted by brewbuck

The stream insertion operator makes things convenient and extensible, but I think it's hard to dispute the compactness and clarity of printf-style format specifiers, even if they aren't type-safe.

I recall that the Boost Format library, mentioned by phantomotap, aims to provide "printf-like formatting, in a type-safe manner which allows output of user-defined types".

Originally Posted by execute

They are definitely better.

No since they are not type-safe, though they are better in some ways, as mentioned earlier.