C++

C++ was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Laboratories, the same research lab, where "C" was developed at originally. Bjarne Stroustrup called it "C with Classes". Some people believe, this term is a bit misleading, because C++ is offering a lot more to programmers, than "just classes". C++ has all features of an object oriented language, but it is not restricted to that. Programmers are free to use the good old "C" as well, which is a subset of C++..

Why C++ is so popular

There are many object oriented languages out there. The reason why C++ is so widely used are various.

• C++ offers all features of object oriented programming. Classes, Polymorphism, Inheritance, also multiple inheritance, modularity, ...
• C++ is portable, because it is covered by the ANSI C++ standard.
• C++ is fast. Compiler builders have done lots of homework since the end of the 1980's, when C++ was developed originally. Other languages like Java have improved a lot as well, but typically native C++ code is still faster.
• C++ is the "natural skill upgrade for a C programmer". C programmers can learn C++ bit by bit and "grow into" the world of object oriented programming.
• System Programming. Like in C, C++ programmers can access the OS ressources (system calls) directly. This is fast and gives flexibility. C++ is the Unix system programming language in these days.
• C++ is elegant. It is fun!

Literature

Bjarne Stroustrup has probably written the best known book on C++. It is a bit of a hard read for a beginner, but still one of the best sources for C++ grammar and the features of the language.

I can highly recommend Ray Lischner's "C++ in a Nutshell", which is not only a good reference on C++, but also and particulary on STL.

Tutorials

There are many. A few ones are given here. Some tutorials mix the language tutorial with a STL tutorial. For STL tutorials, please have a read on STL .

• A beginner's tutorial
• A "delta" tutorial for C - Programmers
• If you want to find out about your skills, have a look at this exam

Platforms

• All Unix based systems
• All Windows Systems
• Many more