The prefix increment operator is overloaded as operator++() while the postfix increment operator is overloaded as operator++(int).
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Both the prefix and the postfix increment operators increment the operand. The difference is what is the value of the expression during the evaluation of the expression. In the prefix form, the value is already incremented. In the postfix form, it is not. int a = 1; int b = ++a; // both a and b are now equal to 2 int a = 1; int b = a++; // a is equal to 2 and b is equal to 1
I assume by 2 plus you really mean ++. This is the increment operator which is used to increment the operand. If placed before the operand, the operator evaluates the incremented operand (prefix increment). If placed after the operand, the operator evaluates the non-incremented operand (postfix increment). +++ and ++++ are meaningless but are assumed to mean incrementing an increment. If you wish to increment an increment, you must use the compound expression ++(++) or (++)++. Thus for the variable x, prefix incrementing twice would be achieved with ++(++x), while postfix incrementing twice would be achieved with (x++)++. You can also mix the two, such as ++(x++) or (++x)++, both of which would increment x twice but would evaluate the increment of x. If postfix increment is not a requirement, it would be much easier to use the compound expression x+=n, where n is the amount you wish to increment. This is the same as saying x=x+n.
C++ uses the postfix increment operator whereas ++C uses the prefix increment operator. Both do exactly the same thing; they increment C (the same as C=C+1 increments C). The difference is only in the return value. ++C returns a reference to C, whereas C++ returns the original value of C.
C++ was originally called "C with Classes" in 1979, as that is precisely what C++ was at the time. The name was changed to C++ in 1983. ++ is the increment operator in C, thus C++ literally means C=C+1. Hence C++ is the next "incremental" version of C. By rights it should really be called ++C (prefix increment) because, although C++ (postfix increment) increments C, the evaluation is the original value of C.
A postfix incrementation or decrementation is handled by the ++ and -- operators. Postfix specifically refers to adding the operator after the variable name (eg. i++). This will attempt to increase/decrease the data type by 1. It differs from prefix in that it will return the variable before the calculation.Example:int i = 1;System.out.print(i++); //1System.out.print(i); //2