What is C++?
In the programming world, C++ is a programming language that comes from a lower-level language compared to Java and Python. It was designed to be an object-oriented programming language that can write programs for many applications we have in today’s software such as our operating systems(Windows, Linux) and modern video games (Unreal Engine, some Unity). Back in the 80s, a computer scientist named Bjarne Stroustrup developed the language for the idea and concept to have the original C language to have “C with classes”. He wanted to have some features for the C language with some exception handling, operator overloading, and templates. Additionally, he also wanted to add some classes, derived classes, strong typing, inclining and default arguments. This created the C language with a proper static library than its original counterpart. Other interesting note, Stroustrup received a 2018 Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering from the National Academy of Engineering and $500,000 for his accomplishment to our society.
What applications we used this language in today’s technology?
As a middle-level language, C combines benefits of both low machine level languages and high-level developer friendly languages. Further, it is fast, structured, portable and has a rich library. These features make C a general purpose programming language, and hence, it finds application across every domain in programming world.
A super set of C, C++ is an object-oriented programming language and incorporates all the features offered by C. C++ started its journey as C with classes. Gradually, it has evolved and despite the popularity of other programming languages like C# and Java, C, C++ holds its own as one of the most widely used languages for scripting. In applications, C++ is ubiquitous.
Applications such as:
Gaming:
Graphic User Interface (GUI) based applications:
Web Browsers:
Advance Computations and Graphics:
Database Software:
Operating Systems:
Enterprise Software:
Medical and Engineering Applications:
Compilers:
Will the programming language can help me understand more complex, lower-end machine languages?
Do I need to take any prior programming languages in order to understand C++?
Not necessarily. C++ is a simple and clear language in its expressions. It is true that a piece of code written with C++ may be seen by a stranger of programming a bit more cryptic than some other languages due to the intensive use of special characters ({}[]*&!|…), but once one knows the meaning of such characters it can be even more schematic and clear than other languages that rely more on English words. Also, the simplification of the input/output interface of C++ in comparison to C and the incorporation of the standard template library in the language, makes the communication and manipulation of data in a program written in C++ as simple as in other languages, without losing the power it offers.
References
https://www.nae.edu/177355.aspx “Computer Science Pioneer Bjarne Stroustrup to Receive the 2018 Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering”