// This is a comment, that is, a note to the person (you) reading the program.
// Comments begin as soon as you see the double slash, i.e., "//"

                     // By the way, comments can begin anywhere on a line

// We use comments to tell us 
// (1) what the program is about,
// (2) who wrote it, and
// (3) when they wrote it.

// We also use comments to explain parts of the code which we think the reader
// may not understand (like you see is th program below).

// Program #1:  HelloWorld - Demonstrates the basic parts of a C++ program
// Author:      Dr. Keith A. Shomper
// Date:        6 Jan 09

// The next line includes code someone else has written for input and output (I/O)
#include <iostream>

// Tells the compiler to use the things we included in the previous line
using namespace std;

// The beginning of out program is always called "main"
// everything between the '{' and the '}' is called the "body" of the
// main program.
int main() {

   // the next line writes the message "Hello World!" to the screen
   cout << "Hello world!";
   
   // write a new line (i.e., a <CR>), "endl" stands for end-of-the-line
   cout << endl;
   
   // stop the program and return to operating system (O/S)
   return 0;
   
}