Code Indentation

Code indentation is an important practice that makes code more readable and clear. While C++ doesn't require indentation for the program to work correctly, it's a standard convention used by all programmers.

Poorly indented code:

if (number > 0) {
std::cout << "Positive" << std::endl;
} else {
std::cout << "Negative" << std::endl;
}

Properly indented code:

if (number > 0) {
    std::cout << "Positive" << std::endl;
} else {
    std::cout << "Negative" << std::endl;
}

Basic indentation rules:

• Code inside curly braces {} is indented one level to the right
• Use either 4 spaces or a tab for indentation
• Use indentation consistently throughout the entire program
• Write curly braces either on the same line or below each other

Indentation is especially important with nested code blocks:

if (number > 0) {
    if (number > 100) {
        std::cout << "Large positive number" << std::endl;
    } else {
        std::cout << "Small positive number" << std::endl;
    }
} else {
    std::cout << "Negative number" << std::endl;
}