C++ Keywords

A list of useful keywords in C++ can be found in the table below.

Keyword	Description
and	An alternative way to write the logical `&&` operator
and_eq	An alternative way to write the `&=` assignment operator
bitand	An alternative way to write the `&` bitwise operator
bitor	An alternative way to write the `\|` bitwise operator
bool	A data type that can only store true or false values
break	Breaks out of a loop or a switch block
case	Marks a block of code in switch statements
catch	Catches exceptions generated by try statements
char	A data type that can store a single character
class	Defines a class
compl	An alternative way to write the `~` bitwise operator
const	Defines a variable or parameter as a constant (unchangeable) or specifies that a class method does not modify attributes of the class
continue	Continues to the next iteration of a loop
default	Specifies the default block of code in a switch statement
delete	Frees dynamic memory
do	Used together with while to create a do/while loop
double	A data type that is usually 64 bits long which can store fractional numbers
else	Used in conditional statements
enum	Declares an enumerated type
false	A boolean value equivalent to 0
float	A data type that is usually 32 bits long which can store fractional numbers
for	Creates a for loop
friend	Specifies classes and functions which have access to private and protected members
goto	Jumps to a line of code specified by a label
if	Makes a conditional statement
int	A data type that is usually 32 bits long which can store whole numbers
long	Ensures that an integer is at least 32 bits long (use long long to ensure 64 bits)
namespace	Declares a namespace
new	Reserves dynamic memory
not	An alternative way to write the logical `!` operator
not_eq	An alternative way to write the `!=` comparison operator
or	An alternative way to write the logical `\|\|` operator
or_eq	An alternative way to write the `\|=` assignment operator
private	An access modifier which makes a member only accessible within the declared class
protected	An access modifier which makes a member only accessible within the declared class and its children
public	An access modifier which makes a member accessible from anywhere
return	Used to return a value from a function
short	Reduces the size of an integer to 16 bits
signed	Specifies that an `int` or `char` can represent positive and negative values (this is the default so the keyword is not usually necessary)
sizeof	An operator that returns the amount of memory occupied by a variable or data type
static	Specifies that an attribute or method belongs to the class itself instead of instances of the class Specifies that a variable in a function keeps its value after the function ends
struct	Defines a structure
switch	Selects one of many code blocks to be executed
template	Declares a template class or template function
this	A variable that is available inside class methods and constructors which contians a pointer to a class instance
throw	Creates a custom error which can be caught by a try...catch statement
true	A boolean value equivalent to 1
try	Creates a try...catch statement
typedef	Defines a custom data type
unsigned	Specifies that an `int` or `char` should only represent positive values which allows for storing numbers up to twice as large
using	Allows variables and functions from a namespace to be used without the namespace's prefix
virtual	Specifies that a class method is virtual
void	Indicates a function that does not return a value or specifies a pointer to a data with an unspecified type
while	Creates a while loop
xor	An alternative way to write the `^` bitwise operator
xor_eq	An alternative way to write the `^=` assignment operator