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title: "Basic Concepts  (C++) | Microsoft Docs"
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# Basic Concepts  (C++)
This section explains concepts that are critical to understanding C++. C programmers will be familiar with many of these concepts, but there are some subtle differences that can cause unexpected program results. The following topics are included:  
  
-   [Declarations and definitions](../cpp/declarations-and-definitions-cpp.md)  
  
-   [Scope of a C++ object or function](../cpp/scope-visual-cpp.md)  
  
-   [Program definition and linkage rules](../cpp/program-and-linkage-cpp.md)  
  
-   [Startup and termination](../cpp/startup-and-termination-cpp.md)  
  
-   [L-values and r-values](../cpp/lvalues-and-rvalues-visual-cpp.md)  
  
-   [Temporary Objects](../cpp/temporary-objects.md)  
  
-   [Alignment](../cpp/alignment-cpp-declarations.md)  
  
-   [alignof and alignas](../cpp/alignof-and-alignas-cpp.md)  
  
-   [Trivial, standard-layout and POD types](../cpp/trivial-standard-layout-and-pod-types.md)  
  
## See Also  
 [C++ Language Reference](../cpp/cpp-language-reference.md)