decontructing c++

Hi,
I'm trying to get into C++, but i tend to learn stuff better in my own strange way ;)
[using vc++ 6]
i had a simple program that was like

Code:

---

#include <iostream.h>
void main
{
char thisisyourname[30];
cout << "What is your name?";
cin >> thisisyourname;
cout << endl << "Your name is " << thisisyourname;
}

---

if i've made an obvious mistakes it's cos i'm writing it from memory. (it did work)
And then i wondered about iostream.h, couldnt I take some stuff out of there and write it in the program and do away with the #include
and after looking at webpages from http://www.cplusplus.com/ref/iostream/ i came up with

Code:

---

// #include <iostream.h>
void main()
{
char thisisyourname[30];
istream::write "what is your name?";
istream::getline (thisisyourname,30);
ostream::write "You are " && thisisyourname;


}

---

which has lots of errors like
istream' : is not a class or namespace name
and 'write' : undeclared identifier
in fact one set for every line.
i expect '&&' is wrong as well, i just guessed.

question is. can this work? differently?

cheers

:confused: What's with all the underscores?

Code:

---

#include <iostream.h>
//May have to #include <iostream> depending on compiler
using namespace std;

int main()
{
char name[50];
cout <<"What's your name?";
cin>>name;
cout << "\n"; //Could also be cout << endl;
cout << "Your name is " << name;
return 0;
}

---

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Yawgmoth
[B]:confused: What's with all the underscores?

---

dunno they just turned up. maybe cos i pasted the msg from another webpage. i've edited them out. :)

In C++ you cannot just do away with the include. If you really wanted to, you could write the prototypes yourself, but iostreams is a complicated little beasty. In C a default prototype is assumed that "just happens" to match printf and scanf, or rather, the linker will do the right thing in it's confusion.

What's the point in not including headers?

i was just trying to get a closer look at how c/c++ works. but as you say it gets complicated so i'm stearing clear for the time being.
maybe when i know more.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by CheesyMoo
What's the point in not including headers?

---

browolf is on the right track to understanding what is going on. Since code in headers (and their corresponding source files) is just included into the program (a rather primitive way of implementing 'units'), then you should be able to create your program entirely in one file (I know that it is not exactly that easy, since certain variables just have file scope, which would be eliminated in this way, since you now only have one file). But, the point is, browolf, is that if you have a program this complicated, you should be using includes for your header files. When you have code structures in your program that can be used in other programs, they should be contained within their own .h/.cpp file pair as a 'unit', which can be included to multiple programs.