In this tutorial, we are going to learn about the very basic introduction of the CPP/C++ language.
Introduction to CPP Language:
C++ is a general-purpose programming language created by Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or “C with Classes”. The language has expanded significantly over time, and modern C++ now has object-oriented, generic, and functional features in addition to facilities for low-level memory manipulation. It is almost always implemented as a compiled language, and many vendors provide C++ compilers, including the Free Software Foundation, LLVM, Microsoft, Intel, Oracle, and IBM, so it is available on many platforms.
Bjarne – stroustrup.com
C++ is standardized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), with the latest standard version ratified and published by ISO in December 2020 as ISO/IEC 14882:2020 (informally known as C++20). The C++ programming language was initially standardized in 1998 as ISO/IEC 14882:1998, which was then amended by the C++03, C++11, C++14, and C++17 standards. The current C++20 standard supersedes these with new features and an enlarged standard library.
C++ was designed with an orientation toward system programming and embedded, resource-constrained software and large systems, with performance, efficiency, and flexibility of use as its design highlights.
C++ has also been found useful in many other contexts, with key strengths being software infrastructure and resource-constrained applications, including desktop applications, video games, servers (e.g. e-commerce, web search, or databases).
A few parts of Apple OS X and various versions of Microsoft Windows are written in C++ language and also a few applications for iPod are written in C++.
Symbian OS is developed using C++ which is one of the most widespread OS for cellular phones.
Programming languages can be classified into three categories as mentioned below:
- Low-level Programming Language: Here, communication with the system is in binary format i.e., in, 0’s, and 1’s, which can be directly executed. This means that these languages provide instructions that can be used to perform low-level operations like memory management etc. For example Assembly language, etc.
- High-level Programming Language: Here, communication with the system is in the form of text which can be easily read/understood by humans. For example JavaScript, Python, etc.
- Middle-level Programming Language: These are the languages that support both the features of low-level and high-level programming languages. These are also written in a text which can easily be read by humans. They use tools like Compilers to convert the instructions that are readable by humans (high-level language constructs) into low-level executable code(binary format). For example C, C++, etc…..
Advantages of C++ Language:
Advantages of using C++ Language are mentioned below:
- Simple & Portable
- Object-Oriented
- Low-Level Manipulation
- Memory Management
- Compatability
- Scalability
- Multi-paradigm
Apart from major advantages, there are some limitations to using the C++ language. Some of the disadvantages are mentioned below:
Limitations to C++ Language:
- Absence of Garbage Collector
- Absence of Built-in Thread
- Platform Specific & More Complex
