What is C++?

C++ is a computer programming language created in 1983 by Bjarne Stroustrup and designed to serve as an enhanced version of the C language. It is object oriented and is considered a high level language. However, it features low level facilities. C++ is one of the most commonly used programming languages.

The development of C++ actually began four years before its release, in 1979. It did not start out with this name; its first name was "C with Classes." In the late part of 1983, C with Classes was first used for AT&T’s internal programming needs. Its name was changed to C++ later in the same year. The language was not released commercially until the late part of 1985.

Developed at Bell Labs, C++ enhanced the C programming language in a variety of ways. Among its features are classes, virtual functions, templates, and operator overloading. The language also counts multiple inheritance and exception handling among its many features. C++ introduced the use of declarations as statements and includes more type checking than is available with C.

Considered a superset of C, C++ maintains a variety of features that are included within its predecessor. As such, C programs are generally able to run successfully in C++ compilers, although there are some issues that may cause C code to perform differently. In fact, it is possible for some C code to be incompatible in C++.

The C++ computer programming language was created for UNIX, providing programmers with the advantage of being able to modify code without actually changing it. The code is reusable. Library creation is also cleaner. The language is considered portable and does not require the use of a specific piece of hardware or just one operating system.

Another important feature of C++ is the use of classes. Classes help programmers organize of their code and avoid mistakes. There are times when mistakes do slip through, but classes can be instrumental in finding bugs and correcting them.

The original C++ compiler, called Cfront, was written in the C++ programming language. Compilation in this language is considered efficient and fast. Its speed can be attributed to its high-level features in conjunction with its low-level components. When compared to other computer programming languages, it can be viewed as quite short. This is due to the fact that it leans towards the use of special characters instead of keywords.