Statements are fragments of the C++ program that are executed in sequence. The body of any function is a sequence of statements. For example:
int main() { int n = 1; // declaration statement n = n+1; // expression statement std::cout << "n = " << n << '\n'; // expression statement return 0; // return statement }
There are seven types of statements:
Labels
Any statement can be labeled, by providing a label followed by a colon before the statement itself:
attr(optional) identifier : statement | (1) | |
attr(optional) case constexpr : statement | (2) | |
attr(optional) default : statement | (3) |
An attribute sequence attr may appear just before the label (in which case it applies to the label), or just before any statement itself, in which case it applies to the entire statement. A statement may carry multiple labels.
Expression statements
An expression followed by a semicolon is a statement.
attr(optional) expression(optional) ; | (1) |
attr(C++11) | - | optional sequence of any number of attributes |
expression | - | an expression |
Most statements in a typical C++ program are expression statements, such as assignments or function calls.
An expression statement without an expression is called a null statement. It is often used to provide an empty body to a for or while loop. It can also be used to carry a label in the end of a compound statement.
Compound statement
A compound statement or block is a brace-enclosed sequence of statements.
attr(optional) { statement...(optional) } | (1) |
When one statement is expected, but multiple statements need to be executed in sequence (for example, in an if statement or a loop), a compound statement may be used:
if (expr) // start of if-statement { // start of block int n =1; // declaration statement cout << n; // expression statement } // end of block, end of if-statement
Each compound statement introduces its own block scope: variables declared inside a block are destroyed at the closing brace in reverse order.
int main() { { // start of block std::ofstream f("test.txt"); // declaration statment f << "hi\n"; // expression statement } // end of block, f is flushed and closed by ofstream's destructor std::ifstream f("test.txt"); std::string str; f >> str; }
Selection statements
The selection statements choose between one of several flows of control.
attr(optional) if ( condition ) statement | (1) | |
attr(optional) if ( condition ) statement else statement | (2) | |
attr(optional) switch ( condition ) statement | (3) |
Iteration statements
The iteration statements repeatedly execute some code.
attr(optional) while ( condition ) statement | (1) | |
attr(optional) do statement while ( expression ) ; | (2) | |
attr(optional) for ( for-init-statement condition(optional) ; expression(optional) ) statement | (3) | |
attr(optional) for ( for-range-decl : for-range-init ) statement | (4) | (since C++11) |
Jump statements
The jump statements unconditionally transfer flow control.
attr(optional) break ; | (1) | |
attr(optional) continue ; | (2) | |
attr(optional) return expression(optional) ; | (3) | |
attr(optional) return braced-init-list ; | (4) | (since C++11) |
attr(optional) goto identifier ; | (5) |
Note: for all jump statements, transfer out of a loop, out of a block, or back past an initialized variable with automatic storage duration involves the destruction of objects with automatic storage duration that are in scope at the point transferred from but not at the point transferred to. If multiple objects were initialized, the order of destruction is the opposite of the order of initialization.
Declaration statement
Declaration statements introduce one or more identifiers into a block.
block-declaration ; | (1) |
Try block
The try block statement provides the ability to catch exceptions thrown when executing other statements.
attr(optional) try compound-statement handler-sequence | (1) |
See also
C documentation for Statements |
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