C++ Program to Swap Two Numbers

xample 1: Swap Numbers (Using Temporary Variable)

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    int a = 5, b = 10, temp;

    cout << "Before swapping." << endl;
    cout << "a = " << a << ", b = " << b << endl;

    temp = a;
    a = b;
    b = temp;

    cout << "\nAfter swapping." << endl;
    cout << "a = " << a << ", b = " << b << endl;

    return 0;
}

Output

Before swapping.
a = 5, b = 10

After swapping.
a = 10, b = 5

To perform swapping in above example, three variables are used.

The contents of the first variable is copied into the temp variable. Then, the contents of second variable is copied to the first variable.

Finally, the contents of the temp variable is copied back to the second variable which completes the swapping process.

You can also perform swapping using only two variables as below.

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Example 2: Swap Numbers Without Using Temporary Variables

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    
    int a = 5, b = 10;

    cout << "Before swapping." << endl;
    cout << "a = " << a << ", b = " << b << endl;

    a = a + b;
    b = a - b;
    a = a - b;

    cout << "\nAfter swapping." << endl;
    cout << "a = " << a << ", b = " << b << endl;

    return 0;
}

The output of this program is same as first program above.