Introduction

The C++ programming language is a general purpose multi-paradigm language created by Bjarne Stroustrup. Development of the language started in 1979 under the name “C with classes.” As the name implies, it was an extension of the C language with the additional concept of classes. Stroustrup wanted to create a better C that combined the power and efficiency of C with high-level abstractions to better manage large development projects. The resulting language was renamed to C++ (C-Plus-Plus) in 1983. As a deliberate design feature C++ maintains compatibility with C, and so most C code can easily be made to compile in C++.

The introduction of C++ became a major milestone in the software industry as a widely successful language for both system and application development. System programming involves software that controls the computer hardware directly, such as drivers, operating systems, and software for embedded microprocessors. These areas remain the core domain of the language, where resources are scarce and come at a premium. C++ is also widely used for writing applications, which run on top of system software, especially high-performance software such as games, databases, and resource-demanding desktop applications. Despite the introduction of many modern, high-level languages in this domain – such as Java, C#, and Python – C++ still holds its own and overall remains one of the most popular and influential programming languages in use today.

There are several reasons for the widespread adoption of C++. The foremost reason was the rare combination of both high-level and low-level abstractions from the hardware. The low-level efficiency was inherited from C, and the high-level constructs came in part from a simulation language called Simula. This combination makes it possible to write C++ software with the strength of both approaches. Another strong point of the language is that it does not impose a specific programming paradigm on its users. It is designed to give the programmer a lot of freedom by supporting many different programming styles or paradigms, such as procedural, object-oriented, and generic programming.

C++ is updated and maintained by the C++ standards committee. In 1998, the first international standard was published, known informally as C++98. The language has since undergone three more revisions with further extensions, including C++03; C++11; and most recently, C++14, which is the latest ISO standard for the C++ programming language released in 2014.