/*
An interactive program that computes
the area of a rectangle
*/
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
int length; // this declares a variable
int width; // this declares another variable
cout << "Enter the length: ";
cin >> length; // input the length
cout << "Enter the width: ";
cin >> width; // input the width
cout << "The area is ";
cout << length * width; // displays the area
return 0;
}

were made before Windows Vista, where the console window would usually stay open. So there was no need to specify, hence they left it out of the books.