Integral literal division assigned to float - why is the result wrong?

Question

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main (void) {
    float a=5/9;
    cout << a;
}

This code prints 0 and not 0.555 - what is the problem? Any help appreciated.

Answer 1

5/9

is a division of two integers and its result is 0. If you want the operation done in floats then at least one operand has to be a float:

5/9.f