What does '++j' indicate in terms of increment?

The expression '++j' is known as a pre-increment operator in programming languages such as C, C++, and Java. This means that the value of the variable 'j' is incremented by 1 before it is used in any expressions or calculations.

When '++j' is encountered, the operation first increases the value of 'j' and then evaluates the new value of 'j'. For instance, if 'j' is initially 5, using '++j' would change 'j' to 6 and also evaluate the expression as 6.

In contrast, a post-increment operator, which is represented as 'j++', would first evaluate the current value of 'j' and then increment it afterward. Thus, '++j' provides its updated value immediately, while 'j++' gives the original value before the increment takes effect.

Understanding this distinction is critical in programming, especially when determining the flow of operations and the final results during computations.