What are primitive data types in C++?

What is a variable?

Variables are a fundamental part of programming. In C++, a data type is used to declare or define each variable. For instance, if a variable can hold integers or if it can also store other symbols.

Primitive data types

The following data types are frequently used in C++:

int: This is used to store integer values such as 1, -1, 7, etc.
```
int i = 5;
```
float and double: Both these data types store floating point values such as 1.56, 2.87, -4.7, etc. The difference between these two data types is the size. We can store up to 8 bytes in a double variable while only 4 in a float variable.
```
float f = 5.65;
double d = 7.8987;
```
bool: This is used to store two states: true/1 or false/0. If we want to store a number with a more significant value, our choice would be double.
```
bool b = true;
// or we can also declare bool as this
bool b = 0;
```
char: This is used to store a single character value such as a, A, #, etc.
```
char c = 'A';
```
string: This is used to store text such as Welcome to Educative, @Answers, etc.
```
string s = "This is a string";
```

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main() 
{
  int number = 5;
  float decimal1 = 5.87;
  double decimal2 = 87.0987;
  bool state1 = true;
  bool state2 = 0;
  char letter = 'A';
  string text = "Welcome to Educative";
  cout << "The integer value is: " << number << endl;
  cout << "The float value is: " << decimal1 << endl;
  cout << "The double value is: " << decimal2 << endl;
  cout << "We can write boolean value in two forms as: " << state1 << " and " << state2 << endl;
  cout << "The character value is: " << letter << endl;
  cout << "The string value is: " << text << endl;
  return 0;
}

Explanation

Line 2: We’ll add #include <string> library for using string.
Line 7: Initialize an int variable number and assign a value of 5.
Line 8: Initialize a float variable decimal1 and assign a value of 5.87.
Line 9: Initialize a double variable decimal2 and assign a value of 87.0987.
Line 10–11: Initialize a bool variable state1 and state2 and assign a value true and 0, respectively. Another way to assign value to a bool is to assign 0/1 to the variable. But when we print the value of state1 it prints 1, not true.
Line 12: Initialize a char variable letter and assign a value A.
Line 13: Initialize a string variable text and assign a Welcome to Educative value.
Line 15–20: Displaying the values of variables by prompting a message.

Free AI Mock Interviews

Coding Interview

Coding PatternsFree Interview

Gain insights and practical experience with coding patterns through targeted MCQs and coding problems, designed to match and challenge your expertise level.

System Design

YouTubeFree Interview

Learn to design a video streaming platform like YouTube by tackling functional and non-functional requirements, core components, and high-level to detailed design challenges.

Free Resources

What are primitive data types in C++?

What is a variable?

Primitive data types

Example

Explanation