Will It Cascade?

What this C++ language-knowledge question tests

This is an easy question that probes your understanding of how C++ handles cascading operations and operator precedence in the context of a concrete code snippet. It's the kind of question used to ensure candidates can read and reason about real code without surprises—a baseline skill for any role that involves writing or reviewing C++.

To answer correctly, you need to trace through the code's execution step by step, paying attention to how operators bind, how control flow works, and whether any undefined behaviour or compilation error occurs. The question rewards careful reading and a mental model of what the compiler and runtime actually do, rather than guessing based on intuition.

• Operator precedence and associativity
• Return values and chaining
• Scope and variable lifetime
• Compilation vs. runtime errors