Why use prefixes on member variables in C++ classes

Question

A lot of C++ code uses syntactical conventions for marking up member variables. Common examples include

• m_memberName for public members (where public

Answer 1

I use m_ for member variables just to take advantage of Intellisense and related IDE-functionality. When I'm coding the implementation of a class I can type m_ and see the combobox with all m_ members grouped together.

But I could live without m_ 's without problem, of course. It's just my style of work.