Arizona State University (ASU) CSE100 Principles of Programming with C++ Midterm 1 Practice Exam

The "++" operator in C++ is known as the increment operator. It serves the purpose of increasing the value of a variable by one. This operator can be used in two forms: prefix and postfix. When used as a prefix (e.g., ++variable), it increments the value before the variable is evaluated in any expression. When used as a postfix (e.g., variable++), the current value of the variable is returned before it gets incremented.

This operator is commonly used in loops and arithmetic operations where a counter needs to be increased. Its primary role is specifically to increase integer types, but it can also be applied to other numeric types, making it versatile for mathematical programming.

The other operators mentioned serve different functions. The decrement operator, for instance, would decrease a variable's value, while arithmetic operators are involved in performing basic mathematical operations like addition or multiplication. Logical operators are used for combining Boolean expressions, and they do not modify variables directly.