not really important, just some additional info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_(C%2B%2B)
c++98 is indeed a good start, although I think most of the modern libraries cannot be built with it.

I learned C++ by writing C++ code. My first steps were eMule mods - I modified them, then started my own ones by copying other people's code, then learned C++ by fixing compilation errors after having done so ...

hey guys,

i'm reading data in from a file and trying to declare one of the variables as a double. trouble is the variable has a in it's name. is the name of the variable. the compiler doesn't like that. what can i do?

i figured out another way to declare the variable

you need to show the code you tried, showing just the name of the variable (and also showing a single dot) is just meaningless for us.
But anyway, . means membership (or ownership?), this time field is member of the status_data class or struct, and therefore you can specify the type of the members where you declare the whole class.

1 members found this post helpful.

If you don't show the relevant excerpt of your actual code and maybe a little bit of your data, then it is unrealistic to expect anyone to be able to help you in any meaningful way. (See the various "stickies" about how to ask an answerable question.)

The "dot" has special meaning in variable names in C/C++ and most other programming languages. It is not treated as a character but is instead an operator, the dot operator. If you try to treat it as a single character in variable names the compiler will rightfully complain.

As others have suggested, it would be helpful if you included a little more information in your questions. Please review the Site FAQ for guidance in asking well formed questions. Especially visit the link from that page, How to Ask Questions the Smart Way for discussion of things to consider when asking others for help.

Tutorials with STL references:
https://cplusplus.com/

Good luck!