Introduction to C++

Introduction to C++

C++, high-level computer programming language. Developed by Bjarne Stroustrup of Bell Laboratories in the early 1980s, it is based on the traditional C language but with added object-oriented programming and other capabilities. C++, along with Java, has become popular for developing commercial software packages that incorporate multiple interrelated applications. C++ is considered one of the fastest languages and is very close to low-level languages, thus allowing complete control over memory allocation and management. This very feature and its many other capabilities also make it one of the most difficult languages to learn and handle on a large scale.

History :

Bjarne Stroustrup, a Danish computer scientist, began his work on C++'s predecessor "C with Classes" in 1979. The motivation for creating a new language originated from Stroustrup's experience in programming for his Ph.D. thesis. Stroustrup found that Simula had features that were very helpful for large software development, but the language was too slow for practical use, while BCPL was fast but too low-level to be suitable for large software development. When Stroustrup started working in AT&T Bell Labs, he had the problem of analyzing the UNIX kernel with respect to distributed computing. Remembering his Ph.D. experience, Stroustrup set out to enhance the C language with Simula-like features. C was chosen because it was general-purpose, fast, portable and widely used. As well as C and Simula's influences, other languages also influenced C++, including ALGOL 68, Ada, CLU and ML.

Initially, the class, derived class, strong typing, inlining and default argument features were added to C via Stroustrup's "C with Classes" to C compiler, Cpre.

In 1983, it was renamed from C with Classes to C++ ("++" being the increment operator in C). New features were added including virtual functions, function name and operator overloading, references, constants, type-safe free-store memory allocation (new/delete), improved type checking, and BCPL style single-line comments with two forward slashes (//), as well as the development of a proper compiler for C++, Cfront.

In 1985, the first edition of The C++ Programming Language was released, which became the definitive reference for the language, as there was not yet an official standard.The first commercial implementation of C++ was released in October of the same year.

In 1989, C++ 2.0 was released, followed by the updated second edition of The C++ Programming Language in 1991. New features in 2.0 included multiple inheritance, abstract classes, static member functions, const member functions, and protected members. In 1990, The Annotated C++ Reference Manual was published. This work became the basis for the future standard. Later feature additions included templates, exceptions, namespaces, new casts, and a boolean type.

After the 2.0 update, C++ evolved relatively slowly. In 2011, C++11 standard was released, adding numerous new features, enlarging the standard library further, and providing more facilities to C++ programmers. After a minor C++14 update, released in December 2014, various new additions are planned for 2017.

C++ founder:

Bjarne Stroustrup

 

Bjarne Stroustrup (born 30 December 1950) is a Danish computer scientist, most notable for the creation and development of the widely used C++ programming language. He is a Distinguished Research Professor and holds the College of Engineering Chair in Computer Science at Texas A&M University, a visiting professor at Columbia University, and works at Morgan Stanley

Stroustrup has a master's degree in mathematics and computer science (1975) from Aarhus University, Denmark, and a Ph.D. in computer science (1979) from the University of Cambridge, England. His thesis advisor in Cambridge was David Wheeler.

Stroustrup began developing C++ in 1978 (then called "C with Classes"), and, in his own words, "invented C++, wrote its early definitions, and produced its first implementation... chose and formulated the design criteria for C++, designed all its major facilities, and was responsible for the processing of extension proposals in the C++ standards committee."Stroustrup also wrote a textbook for the language, The C++ Programming Language.

Stroustrup was the head of AT&T Bell Labs' Large-scale Programming Research department, from its creation until late 2002. Stroustrup was elected member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2004. He is a Fellow of the ACM (1994) and an IEEE Fellow. He works at Texas A&M University as a Distinguished Professor where he holds the College of Engineering Endowed Chair in Computer Science. He is also a visiting faculty in Computer Science Department at Columbia University. ITMO University noble doctor since 2013

In 2015, he was made a Fellow of the Computer History Museum for his invention of the C++ programming language.