📅 Date: Jan 1, 2026
🔥 Topic: C++ Basics, Boilerplate, Input/Output

🚀 What is C++?

Today, I started my journey with C++. It is one of the most powerful, high-performance programming languages used for everything from Game Development to System Programming. It's a compiled language, meaning the code is translated into machine code before running, making it super fast.

🛠️ The Boilerplate (The Skeleton)

Every C++ program needs a basic structure to run. This is called the Boilerplate. Without this, the compiler won't know where to start. 

#include <iostream> // 1. Header File
using namespace std;    // 2. Standard Namespace

int main() {            // 3. Main Function (Entry Point)
    
    // Code goes here...
    
    return 0;           // 4. Exit Status
}
Breakdown:
1. #include <iostream>: Brings in input/output functionality.
2. using namespace std;: Helps us use standard commands like 'cout' directly.
3. int main(): This is where the execution begins.
4. return 0;: Tells the OS that the program ended successfully.

💻 How to Print Output (cout)

To display something on the screen, we use cout (Character Output) combined with insertion operators <<. 

cout << "Hello World!" << endl;

Note: endl is used to move to a new line.

⌨️ How to Take User Input (cin)

To take data from the user, we use cin (Character Input) with extraction operators >>. 

int age;
cin >> age;

⚡ Day 1: Full Code Snippet

Putting it all together, here is the first program I wrote today. It takes the user's name and goal, then prints it back. 

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
    // Variable Declaration
    string name;
    int goalYear;

    // Output
    cout << "Enter your name: ";
    // Input
    cin >> name;

    cout << "Enter your target year: ";
    cin >> goalYear;

    // Final Output
    cout << "-------------------------" << endl;
    cout << "User: " << name << endl;
    cout << "Mission Deadline: " << goalYear << endl;
    cout << "Let's grind!" << endl;

    return 0;
}

💭 Thoughts

The logic is similar to other languages, but C++ feels much more closer to the hardware. Understanding cin and cout is just the start. Tomorrow, I will dive into Variables and Data Types in depth.