Need help compiling hello world

Hi, I am trying to learn c++ from a book called c++ primer. I am using vs .net 7.1
This will sound like a silly question but has c++ changed heaps in this compiler?
When i start a new win32 console app this is what it looks like

#include "stdafx.h"

int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])
{
return 0;
}


_tmain?? whats that?

Any way, i tried putting this line above return

cout<<"hello world";

and i get this error

error C2065: 'cout' : undeclared identifier

Is my book way out of date or are there only minor changes or is it something else?

Thanks heaps for any info

You need to include the header file that defines cout. This can be done as follows:

Code:

---

#include <iostream> //Added line
#include "stdafx.h"

using namespace std; //Added line
int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])
{
return 0;
}

---

'#include <iostream>' tells the compiler to include that header file, and 'using namespace std' is needed so you dont have to type in 'std::' before every 'cout','cin', etc.

>>_tmain?? whats that?<<

It's a macro #defined in tchar.h as either main or wmain (wmain is the wide char or unicode version of the function).

Thanks guys, I had #include <iostream> in a header file.
I didn't know about std::
Is that new?
I thought namespaces were just a part of managed code like c#
Is there any books about c++ using vs .net?
Thanks again

Quote:

---

Is that new?

---

Yes, it's part of the new standard that includes the new headers (iostream, cstring etc)

Quote:

---

Is there any books about c++ using vs .net?

---

I'm sure there are plenty, but I dont know which ones are the best. Remember that C++ .NET is fairly similar to C++ 6.0, in fact, you can program perfectly in VS .NET using only C++ 6.0 code. Check out Jesse Liberty's C++ tutorial.

C++ primer is not the easiest of books to start learning C++ with. Also I don't think .net is the easiest program.

If I were you I'd download a copy of Dev-C++ by bloodshed and start with that. As for books, pick something user friendly to start with. Sams Teach yourself c++ in 21 days is easy to follow. (don't expect to be a c++ programmer in 21 days though :) )

I personally learned through a book entitled "The Complete Idiot's Guide to C++". It assumes you don't know how to program at all (whereas some books I've found expect you know C which at the time I didn't).

I believe the best method is to learn standard C++ and then move on to platform specifics. Otherwise, you're going to get confused and ultimately write nonstandard code.

I'm learning with a book called C++ For the Absolute Begginer, It is a great book if you have no previous programing knowledge (And Im using DevC++).