Incrementing in C++ - When to use x++ or ++x?

Question

I'm currently learning C++ and I've learned about the incrementation a while ago. I know that you can use "++x" to make the incrementation before and "x++" to do it after.

Still, I really don't know when to use either of the two... I've never really used "++x" and things always worked fine so far - so, when should I use it?

Example: In a for loop, when is it preferable to use "++x"?

Also, could someone explain exactly how the different incrementations (or decrementations) work? I would really appreciate it.

Answer 1

It's not a question of preference, but of logic.

x++ increments the value of variable x after processing the current statement.

++x increments the value of variable x before processing the current statement.

So just decide on the logic you write.

x += ++i will increment i and add i+1 to x. x += i++ will add i to x, then increment i.

Answer 2

Scott Meyers tells you to prefer prefix except on those occasions where logic would dictate that postfix is appropriate.

"More Effective C++" item #6 - that's sufficient authority for me.

For those who don't own the book, here are the pertinent quotes. From page 32:

From your days as a C programmer, you may recall that the prefix form of the increment operator is sometimes called "increment and fetch", while the postfix form is often known as "fetch and increment." The two phrases are important to remember, because they all but act as formal specifications...

And on page 34:

If you're the kind who worries about efficiency, you probably broke into a sweat when you first saw the postfix increment function. That function has to create a temporary object for its return value and the implementation above also creates an explicit temporary object that has to be constructed and destructed. The prefix increment function has no such temporaries...