C++ language comes with different libraries, which help us in performing input/output operations. In C++, sequences of bytes corresponding to input and output are commonly known as streams. There are two types of streams.

They are,

Input stream

In the input stream, the direction of the flow of bytes occurs from the input device (for example, keyboard) to the main memory.

Output stream

In the output stream, the direction of flow of bytes occurs from the main memory to the output device (for example, display).

An example that demonstrates how input and output are popularly done in C++.

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
 
int main()
{
    int num;
    cout << "Enter a number: ";
    cin >> num;                        // Getting input from the user
    cout << "Your number is: " << num; // Displaying the input value
    return 0;
}

Input:

Enter a number: 10

Output:

Your number is: 10

Important Points

• The sign << is called the insertion operator.
• The sign >> is called the extraction operator.
• cout keyword is used to print.
• cin keyword is used to take input at run time.