Best way to print a string

[steady crater]

Hi, in C++ what's the best way to print a string? will be fine if I just always use std::cout? Or should I use other functions?

[deep spoke]

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[solid epoch]

depends on what your goals are

std::cout is the best way if you want to use streams or if you want to keep compatibility with old versions of C++

if you are using c++23 or newer you can use std::println

I personally keep large projects on c++20 still and write my own small abstraction for printing

but for small projects I use c++23/c++26 and std::println

[toxic pewter]

what is this abstraction ? ⁨std::format⁩ the object the ⁨std::cout⁩ ?

[steady crater]

so I should update to C++26 whenever possible and use std::println

[toxic pewter]

⁨C++23⁩

[solid epoch]

yeah usually something like:

template <typename... Arguments>
void smuggle_verbose_log_line(std::format_string<Arguments...> format,
                              Arguments&&... arguments);

[solid epoch]

no

using older c++ versions is usually prefared for large scale projects

for better support

[toxic pewter]

i still need to learn variadic templates and collapsing references 🥲

[steady crater]

oh my bad I'm new to this, so what standard should I use

23?

[solid epoch]

I already said

I like using c++20 myself

it has pretty good support

[toxic pewter]

if you are just learning , trying stuff out, use ⁨20⁩ or try ⁨23⁩ if u can

[solid epoch]

c++17 if really wide support is essential

[toxic pewter]

MSVC doesnt have 23 fully supported yet so im just using 20 for everything

[steady crater]

and what about c++11

[solid epoch]

if you are in school use whatever the school uses so you dont try to use a feature that doesnt exist on an exam

[toxic pewter]

its too old

[solid epoch]

wat about it??

its prety old

[steady crater]

but if I can code on it

will the code be more compatible

[solid epoch]

too oldvery widely supported

[solid epoch]

yes

[steady crater]

ok thanks

[solid epoch]

c++20 is generally widely supported rn

[toxic pewter]

but you also wont have many good modern features

[steady crater]

ooh

[solid epoch]

I woudent dip belowe c++17 if I were you tho

my golden standard is c++20 for big projects and c++26 for someting I can write in a day

just for convience

[steady crater]

ok ty

very helpful

[deep spoke]

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[wanton pike]

support?

[solid epoch]

wider support between implementations

if you need it to run on old or niche machines support can be an issue

but usually it isnt

[wanton pike]

hmmm well as long as they don't care about MSVC, C++26 support is good

[solid epoch]

the older something is the less likely for a undescovered security vurnerability too

[solid epoch]

there is not a single stable compiler release with reflection or contracts

[wanton pike]

stable enough for me :P

[solid epoch]

modules are still pretty shakey from way back in c++20

especially if your running on older machines with older compilers

[formal fossil]

Mfw the support narrows before cpp11

I mean, I couldnt see an option for cpp98 on msvc

[solid epoch]

no one likes msvc its ok

we haved mingw :3

[north karma]

no it not

use std::print and std::println anyway

you can just pass ostream into it

[solid epoch]

thats c++23

[north karma]

well, c++26 is comming so

[cobalt shore]

I use std::cout with std::format (C++20). std::cout has a buffer and can optimize the output stream.

Because of the buffer when debugging, std::cout can send outputs in a non-linear way. Therefore, for debugging, std::cerr is generally used, which sends outputs directly to the output.

[wanton pike]

Really? Since when is std::format constexpr

cppref says it isn't :(

[cobalt shore]

Bruh, so std::format should only be checked at compile time.

[wanton pike]

oh, that's nothing special though

[cobalt shore]

Well, I think std::cout and std::format are still a good combination. std::cout has its buffer to optimize output, and you can use std::format to improve readability.

[solid epoch]

thats what I always use accept for small projects where I use std::println

[steady crater]

Best way to print a string

[north karma]

std::print(std::cout, "Something"); tho i think it already by default

nvm default is std::print(stdout, ...);

[steady crater]

personally i use std::cout << ... + std::cerr << ... + std::clog << ... + std::cin >> ... + std::getline std::cin, ... + std::wcout + std::wcerr + std::wclog + std::wcin + std::getline std::wcin, ... + std::printf + std::fprintf stdout, ... + std::puts + std::putchar + std::putc ..., stdout + std::scanf + std::fscanf stdin, ... + std::gets_s + std::getchar + std::getc stdin + std::wprintf + std::fwprintf stdout, ... + std::putwchar + std::getwchar + std::format + std::cout + std::vformat + output stream + std::print + std::println + std::ostringstream → std::cout + std::istringstream ← std::cin + std::stringstream + std::ostream::write + std::istream::read + std::istream::get + std::istream::getline + std::istream::ignore + std::ostream::put + std::sync_with_stdio false + C stdio + mixed usage + std::basic_ostream<char> + std::basic_istream<char> specializations + std::basic_ostream<wchar_t> + std::basic_istream<wchar_t> + std::spanstream + std::basic_syncbuf + std::osyncstream + std::ranges-based input via iterators over std::cin + std::istream_iterator<T> + std::ostream_iterator<T> + std::freopen "CON", ... + std::system "echo ..." + std::streambuf

[steady crater]

took them 40 years only

[solar harness]

tbh personal logging library better

i mean u want to wrap the std::cout sure, want to add more functionalities sure

kinda of a win win i think

although 40 years for printf but newer is indeed crazy

[cobalt shore]

Really? I use std::cout with std::format. If std::print uses std::cout as stream object it's very cool, because it's more readable, and has optimization. I'll read about this.

Yeah, std::cout has linked to stdout that is the default C output stream. Then i'll use std::print now. This has the same effect of std::cout + std::format