iostream is a heaer file which is used for input/output in the C++ programming language. It is part of the C++ standard library. The name stands for Input/Output Stream. In C++ and its predecessor, the C programming language, there is no special syntax for streaming data input or output. Instead, these are combined as a library of functions. Like the cstdio header inherited from C's stdio.h, iostream provides basic input and output services for C++ programs. iostream uses the objects cin, cout, cerr, and clog for sending data to and from the standard streams input, output, error (unbuffered), and error (buffered) respectively. As part of the C++ standard library, these objects are a part of the std namespace.