Question

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

I’ve seen things like i++ commonly used in, say, for loops. But when people use -- instead of ++, for some reason some tend to write --i as opposed to i--.

Last time I checked, they both work (at least in JavaScript). Can someone tell me if this is so in other C-family languages, and if it is, why do some people prefer --i to i--?

Answer 1

I don’t believe the preference for prefix (++i) vs. postfix (i++) varies depending on whether it’s an increment or a decrement.

As for why, I prefer prefix where possible because my native language is English, which has mostly a verb-before-object structure (“eat dinner”, “drive car”), so “increment i” or “decrement i” is more natural for me than “i decrement”. Of course, I’ll happily use postfix if I’m using the result and I need the value prior to the increment in an expression (rather than the incremented value).