C++ VS Code not recognizing syntax, unable to run code - c++

Question

I am using a specific syntax needed for a course, but when I use this C++ syntax in VS Code, it doesn't work and raises errors.
Here is an example of the syntax that is not working:
error: expected ';' at end of declaration
int i {0};
^
;
When I change it to int i = 0; the error disappears.
It specifically doesn't recognize the {} syntax for setting default variable values. I am using a ssh login for this course and the syntax works well in the ssh, but won't work in VS Code.
I attempted to change my VS Code C++ version to C++17 by doing the top answer in this thread, but it still doesn't recognize the syntax.
Am I using incorrect syntax, or is there a way to fix this?

Answer 1

Adding on to the comment above, this is what solved my issue:
Go to this link: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/config-clang-mac
Go to the section Clang on macOS and scroll down to Troubleshooting. Follow the steps in this paragraph:
"If you see build errors mentioning "C++11 extensions", you may not have updated your tasks.json build task to use the clang++ argument --std=c++17. By default, clang++ uses the C++98 standard, which doesn't support the initialization used in helloworld.cpp. Make sure to replace the entire contents of your tasks.json file with the code block provided in the Run helloworld.cpp section."
You will need to copy-paste this exact code and replace the code in the tasks.json folder:
{
// See https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=733558
// for the documentation about the tasks.json format
"version": "2.0.0",
"tasks": [
{
"type": "shell",
"label": "C/C++: clang++ build active file",
"command": "/usr/bin/clang++",
"args": [
"-std=c++17",
"-stdlib=libc++",
"-g",
"${file}",
"-o",
"${fileDirname}/${fileBasenameNoExtension}"
],
"options": {
"cwd": "${workspaceFolder}"
},
"problemMatcher": ["$gcc"],
"group": {
"kind": "build",
"isDefault": true
},
"detail": "Task generated by Debugger."
}
]
}
To find the tasks.json folder, go to your program-file, do Command + Shift + . to find hidden files > .vscode > tasks.json > replace all the code in the file with the one I provided. It updates the C++ compiler to use a more updated version of C++ which recognizes the syntax.