C++ Tokens

The smallest individual units in a program are known as tokens. Most of the tokens in C++ are basically similar to C tokens with the exception of som addition and minor modification. C++ has the following tokens:

  1. Keywords
  2. Identifiers
  3. Constants
  4. Strings
  5. Operators


Keywords

The keywords specify specific C++ language features. They are reserved words and cannot be used as the variable name or any user-defined elements name. The following table gives the complete set of C++ keywords:

auto break case char const continue default do
double else enum extern float for goto if
int long register return short signed sizeof static
struct switch typedef union unsigned void volatile while
bool const_cast dynaimc_cast explicit export false mutable namespace
reinterpret_cast static_cast true typeid typename using wchar_t


Identifiers

Identifiers refer to the names of variables, functions, arrays, classes etc given by the programmer. Each language has its own rules for naming the identifiers. The following rules are common for both C and C++:

  • Only alphabets, digits and underscores are valid.
  • Cannot start with a digit.
  • Identifiers are case sensitive.
  • Cannot use a keyword as identifiers.
  • Must not contain white spaces.
  • First 31 characters are significant.


Constants

Constants refer to fixed values that do not change during the execution of a program. Constants are also called literals. C an C++ both supports several kinds of literal constants. They include integers, characters, floating point numbers and strings. Example:

  • 72 //decimal integer
  • 72.5 //floating type integer
  • 037 //octal integer
  • 0X3 //hexadecimal integer
  • "C" //string
  • 'D' //character

Operator and String will be discussed later in this tutorial.