Answer by mishal153 for 'printf' vs. 'cout' in C++

For me, the real differences which would make me go for 'cout' rather than 'printf' are:

1) << operator can be overloaded for my classes.

2) Output stream for cout can be easily changed to a file :(: copy paste :)

#include <iostream>#include <fstream>using namespace std;int main (){    cout << "This is sent to prompt"<< endl;    ofstream file;    file.open ("test.txt");    streambuf* sbuf = cout.rdbuf();    cout.rdbuf(file.rdbuf());    cout << "This is sent to file"<< endl;    cout.rdbuf(sbuf);    cout << "This is also sent to prompt"<< endl;    return 0;}

3) I find cout more readable, especially when we have many parameters.

One problem with cout is the formatting options. Formatting the data (precision, justificaton, etc.) in printf is easier.