C++ Programming Language

CPP (also referred as C++) is a general-purpose & cross-platform programming language created by Bjarne Stroustrup in 1979, which was developed as an improved/enhanced and more powerful version of the C programming language which brings the OPPS (Object Oriented Programming) feature. It is a compiled language. We can also say that C++ is the superset language of C.

It is a middle-level language which facilitates us form programming drivers, kernels (low-level) to even higher-level applications like games, GUI’s, desktop apps etc.

C++ supports all the syntax that is supported by C language and also it has its own syntax which is more simplified as compared to C. This Language was udated three major times in its history which was in 2011, 2014 and 2017 to C++11, C++14 and C++17.

For Example a ‘Hello World’ code for C++ programming language loolks like this:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main() {

  cout << “Hello World!”;

  return 0;

}

OUTPUT: Hello World!

The following are the features and important points to note about C++:

  • C++ is a simple language in a sense that programs can be broken down into logical units and parts, has a rich library support. Its STL library provides a rich variety of predefined functions which are very easy to implement as compared to other languages.
  • C++ programs compiled on a Operating System will not run on other Operating System. But it is independent of the machine configuration.
  • It is a mid-level language because we can do lower-level programming as well as higher level programming.
  • C++ has higher speed of execution as compared to any other language except C because C is the fastest executable language.
  • It can be used to develop applications that can be used on mutiple platforms.
  • It is one of the most important feature of any language. It helps C++ to make maintainable and extensible programs and also we can build large scale applications.
  • C++ provides us pointer support which aids users to directly manipulate storage address. It is very helpful in Low-level programming.
  • It has support of some awesome build-in libraries support like the STL (Standard Template Library), and also 3rd party library support like the boost libraries for fast development.
  • C++ is almost similar to Java and C#, which makes it easier for programmers to switch between languages.
  • Many different IDE have been developed for this language which includes a lot of features.
  • The programmers base of C++ is large, since it is a very old language. Hence, a user facing any problem in this language can get support or find problem to its solutuion easily.

Applications of the C++ Language:

  • Operating Systems and Systems Programming. Example: Linux kernel based Operating Systems.
  • Browsers. For Example: Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
  • Graphics Designing applications and Gaming engines like Photoshop, Unreal-Engine etc.
  • Database Engines like MySQL, MongoBD, Redis etc.
  • Cloud/Distributed Systems.