In C++, I am trying to create a valid .bmp output file - c++

Question

I am trying to replicate a bmp found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMP_file_format (its the 2x2 one). Whenever I try and open it in paint or photoviewer or whatever it says it isn't supported. I'm not sure what I am doing wrong here. I have gone over the hex values several times and everything (as far as I can tell) looks identical. Help?
#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
using namespace std;
int main(){
ofstream bitmap;
unsigned char bm_header[14] =
/*BM*/ { 0x4D, 0x42,
/*70 bytes*/ 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x46,
/*Unused */ 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
/* 54 bytes */ 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x36 };
unsigned char dib_header[40] =
/*40 bytes*/ { 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x28,
/*2 pixels wide*/ 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02,
/*2 pixels tall*/ 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02,
/*1 plane */ 0x00, 0x01,
/*24 bits */ 0x00, 0x18,
/*0 */ 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
/*16 bytes */ 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x10,
/*2835 p/m wide*/ 0x00, 0x00, 0x0B, 0x13,
/*2835 p/m tall*/ 0x00, 0x00, 0x0B, 0x13,
/*0 colors*/ 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
/*0 import. colors*/0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00 };
unsigned char pixel_header[16] =
{0x00, 0x00, 0xFF,
0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF,
0x00, 0x00,
0x00, 0x00, 0xFF,
0x00, 0xFF, 0x00,
0x00, 0x00 };
bitmap.open("mandelbrot_1.bmp", ios::out | ios::binary);
for(int i = 0; i < 14; i++) {
bitmap << bm_header[i];
}
for(int i = 0; i < 40; i++) {
bitmap << dib_header[i];
}
for(int i = 0; i < 16; i++) {
bitmap << pixel_header[i];
}
cout << "success!" << endl;
bitmap.close();
return 0;
}

Answer 1

Each field in bm_header and dib_header is reversed from what it should be. The values 0x4d, 0x42 spell out "MB", not "BM." The sequence 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x46 is interpreted as 0x46000000 bytes, not 0x46 bytes. In general the bytes in the Wikipedia table are listed in the order that they should go into the file.

Answer 2

Go on YouTube and search for Handmade Hero Bitmap, or go on Handmade Hero's channel and watch episodes from 36 to 39.
Casey (the author) goes over literally everything you need to know in theory and in practice down to endianness quirks and struct tight packing.
Those episodes are easy enough to consume on their own even if you have no interest in the series or haven't watched the previous episodes.

Answer 3

I'd suggest you do an online search for BITMAPINFOHEADER. That will give you a structure you can use instead of manipulating bytes directly.