C/C++
C/C++
C was created in 1972 by Bell Labs and Dennis Ritchie. It is an imperative, procedural language, which means that it is based on writing procedures, such as subroutines or functions for building programs. It directly writes how the program will operate rather than describing at a high level what the expected results are. C is a low-level language that was mainly created for writing operating systems. The main features of C include low-level memory access and simple keywords. Later languages are based on C, and it is sometimes referred to as the foundation language of programming.
C++ is a general purpose programming language developed by Bjarne Stroustrup in 1979. C++ is an extension of C, and gives high-level control over system resources and memory. C++ is an object-oriented programming (OOP) language, so it allows programmers to reuse code. It is a hybrid language, which means that it supports both procedural and OOP programming.
C and C++ are similar in that they share similar syntax, code structure, and compilation. C is function driven, while C++ is object driven. C focuses on method or process, while C++ focuses on data instead of the method.
C is a mid-level compiled language, which means that once the program is written, it has to be run through a compiler to turn the program into an executable that the computer can run (execute). The C program is in human-readable form, while the executable that comes out of the compiler is machine-readable form. C has various applications, including video game development, databases, internet browsers, banking, cloud computing, compilers, embedded systems, and server applications.
C++ is used to create high performance applications and gives programmers a lot of control over system resources and memory. As a high-level OOP language, it has a clear structure and allows for lower development cost. It is a very popular programming language and is found in today’s operating systems, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), and embedded systems. C++ is close to C# and Java, so it is easy to learn these languages if you know C++. It is also faster than most general programming languages, with better compilation and execution time. Applications of C++ include operating systems (OS), browsers, libraries, graphics, banking, cloud computing, databases, and embedded systems.
C is useful to learn as a first programming language because it helps the programmer understand foundational computer theories, such as computer networks, compiler design, computer architecture, and operating systems. If you are interested in these topics, learning C is a good way to start because these theories are based on C programming and requires knowledge of C. Another reason why learning C is great for beginners is that it does not have as many libraries as other high-level languages such as Python, which means that the programmer has to write a lot from scratch and have to implement your own code, which helps to build up analytical and coding skills.
C++ is a simple language to learn so it is great for new programmers who want to learn a new language. If you are familiar with C, C++ will be easy to transfer over since C++ syntax is similar to that of C. C++ has various libraries, so it helps with writing code quickly. Because of the popularity of the language, there is also a lot of support for beginners and resources. C++ has a wide variety of applications. Major operating systems are written in C/C++, so if working on applications or OS is interesting to you, you should learn C++. Graphics applications such as digital image processing, computer vision, and screen recording programs use C++ because of its speed. It is also used for games that have graphics as a large part of its structure. C++ is also used in embedded systems, such as smart watches and GPS.