Can somebody explain this?

Question

int main()
{
int f=1, i = 2;
while(++i<5)
f*=i;
cout << f;
}
(output is 12)
If there is a nice soul out there whom would like to explain this as thoroughly as possible for me, it would be really appreciated. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get my head around it :S

Espcially the while(++i<5) part. I don't understand the ++i<5 and how the output multiplied with f
turns it into 12? as far as I understood this "int i" gets added up to 4(because can't go higher than 5), and then you multiply this with f which is 1*4??? or 2*4?? either way it doesn't make any sense that it turns into 12. :( As mentioned above, a thorough explenation would be very much appriciated.

//A noob programer whos first language is C++.

Answer 1

++i increments i, then evaluates it. The first time, i is incremented to 3, and we enter the loop because 3 is lower than 5. Inside the loop, we multiply f by i, so f is now 1*3=3. The second time, i is incremented to 4 and 4 is lower than 5, so we loop again. f is multiplied by i and is now 3*4=12. The third time, i is incremented to 5, and 5 is not lower than 5, so we exit the loop, and print the value of f, 12.

Answer 2

Thanks a lot @Zen. This helped out big time, really appreciate it!