Formatting Output

One of the handiest things about std::cout is that you can chain multiple pieces together in a single statement, one after another, each separated by its own <<. This works for text, numbers, and other values all mixed together — no matter the type, each one just gets sent to the console in order.

int quantity = 3;
double price = 4.5;
std::cout << "You bought " << quantity << " items for $" << price << std::endl;

// Output:
// You bought 3 items for $4.5

std::cout lets you combine text and numbers into one line of output by chaining them together with the ____ operator.

You can also combine \n with chaining to print several lines from a single statement, instead of writing a separate std::cout line for each one.

std::cout << "=== Shopping List ===\n" << "Apples\n" << "Bread\n" << "Milk" << std::endl;

// Output:
// === Shopping List ===
// Apples
// Bread
// Milk

std::cout << "A\nB"; produces the same output as writing std::cout << "A" << std::endl; followed by std::cout << "B";.

With \t you can make multiple lines look like a small table by aligning text into columns.

std::cout << "Product\tPrice\n";
std::cout << "Apple\t$0.50\n";
std::cout << "Bread\t$2.00\n";

// Output:
// Product  Price
// Apple    $0.50
// Bread    $2.00

Why do you use \t at the same spot in multiple consecutive lines?

Notice that, unlike some languages, you did not need any special conversion to print quantity or price alongside plain text — std::cout already knows how to turn an int or a double into readable text. You will meet a different way to join text together, using the + operator on std::string, in an upcoming lesson.