Cannot assign value to global array in c++

Question

I've got this code:

 #include <iostream>
    int tabela[1];
    tabela[0] = 1;
    int main(){
        std::cout << tabela[0];
        std::cin.get();
        return 0;
    }

and it doesn't want to work. My compiler says " "tabela" doesn't name a type". However if I do this:

#include <iostream>
int tabela[1];
int main(){
    tabela[0] = 1;
    std::cout << tabela[0];
    std::cin.get();
    return 0;
}

It works. Can sb explain me why? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

At the outermost level, a C++ file is a sequence of declarations. tabela[0] = 1; is not a declaration - it's a statement (in particular an expression-statement). A function body, however, is a sequence of statements, so it's fine to put this line inside the body of main (or any other function).

_{Some statements are declarations (called declaration-statements), but in general they're not.}

Answer 2

for it to be valid C++, you can only initialize variables in global, you can't assign them there.

edit: comments beat me to it. props