Features of C++ Programming Languages

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Introduction

Bjarne Stroustrup’s invention of C++ in 1979, as an extension to C, marked a new frontier for computer programming. Although he originally called it “C with Classes”, the name was changed to C++ in 1983. It was designed to make programming easier and more enjoyable for the individual programmer. Over the years, C++ has developed into a powerful and versatile programming language. C++ is a general-purpose programming language that was developed with the intention to improve C language and include an object-oriented paradigm. Object-Oriented Programming is a programming in which we design and build our application or program based on the object. Objects are instances (variables) of class. It is an imperative and a compiled language.  With C++ inheritance, one object obtains all the properties and behaviors of its parent object automatically. It lets you reuse, extend or modify the attributes and behaviors defined in other class.

Being a middle-level language, C++ gives it the ability to develop low-level (drivers, kernels) and even higher-level software like games, GUI, desktop apps, etc. The main motive of creating C++ programming was to add object orientation to the C programming language. The main changes that were made are object-oriented programming methodology, namespace feature, operator overloading, error & exception handling. The other motive of OOP (object-oriented programming) is to try to understand the whole system in the form of classes & objects.

Features of C++ Programming Languages

As we all know that C++ is an extension of the C language, it possesses many features which C did not. Features like cross-platform and mid-level programming give C++ an upper hand over many programming languages. We will dedicate this tutorial to make you known to those C++ features. C++ is a widely used Programming Languages.

It provides a lot of features that are given below.

   1.      Simple

     2.      Object Oriented

     3.      Machine Independent or Portable

     4.      Abstract Data Type

     5.      Mid-Level Programming Language

    6.      Structured Programming Language

    7.      Compiler based

    8.      Rich Library   

    9.      Memory Management    

    10.    Quicker Compilation

    11.    Pointers

    12.    Extensible

    13.    Reusability

    14.    Popular

    15.    Clarity

    16.    Case-sensitive

    17.    Powerful and Fast

     18.   Errors are easily detected

     19.    Recursion

   20.    Strongly Typed Languages    

1)    Simple

C++ is a structured programming language which allows us to break the code into different sections. This helps us make the code simple and commutable.

As we know that C++ has a rich set of libraries, that can come in handy if you want to use the features they provide. C++ being an extension to C language, makes it easier to switch to C++ if you’ve previously worked with C.

C++ is even similar to C# and Java, which makes it easier to switch to and from the other programming languages. Every C++ program can be written in simple English language so that it is very easy to understand and developed by programmer.

2)    Object Oriented

C language was invented as a procedural language and it lacks OOP concepts which were then added in Cpp, making it an Object-oriented programming language. C++ is an object-oriented language, unlike C, which is a procedural language. It means that with C++, the main focus is on “objects” and working around these objects. These objects help you execute real-time queries based on inheritance, data abstraction, data encapsulation, data hiding, and polymorphism. Let's discuss what these five main terms of object-oriented programming mean.

Concepts like Encapsulation, Inheritance, Polymorphism, and Abstraction increase the efficiency of a C++ code. It helps users in various aspects and we will learn about them in the upcoming tutorials. This was the main upgrade from C++ and it makes the maintenance and development better.

OOP concepts:

•        Class
•       Object
•       Data Encapsulation
•       Polymorphism
•       Inheritance
•       Data Abstraction
•       Data hiding

Let’s briefly understand the concepts of object-oriented programming.

• Class: A class is a user-defined blueprint or prototype from which objects are created. It represents the set of properties or methods that are common to all objects of one type.
• Object: It is a basic unit of Object-Oriented Programming and represents the real-life entities. A C++ program creates many objects which interact by invoking methods.
• Data encapsulation: Data encapsulation simply implements data abstraction by wrapping up the data and functions into an independent block or single unit called class. Using encapsulation, the C++ software engineer cannot directly access the data as it is only accessible through the object of the class.
• Polymorphism: Polymorphism can be referred to as having more than one function with the same name, with different operations. Polymorphism can be static or dynamic. In static polymorphism, memory is allocated at compile time while in dynamic polymorphism, memory is allocated at runtime.
• Inheritance:  Inheritance means inheriting or acquiring the properties and features of the object of one class to another class. It provides reusability of code. The basic idea of inheritance can be implemented by creating more than one class, which we usually refer to as derived classes by joining them with the base class.
• Data Abstraction: The basic notion of data abstraction is to only make the essential information visible and irrelevant information gets hidden from the end-user. Abstraction in programming can hide unnecessary details from the outside world. Using abstraction in our application, the end-user is not bothered even if we modify the internal implementation.
• Data hiding: Data hiding means shielding data from unauthorized access. It is what secures the data.

Note: Data encapsulation is different from data hiding as encapsulation is about keeping the focus on important data than explaining its composite nature.

3)    Machine Independent or Portable

C++ is machine-independent, which means programs can be executed on many machines with little or no changes. C++, however, is not platform-independent, so programs can only be executed on the platform on which they were developed & compiled. The compiler produces a .exe file that is OS-dependent and cannot be run on different operating systems. Suppose you wrote a program or piece of code that runs on Linux, Windows, and Mac OSX, making it Machine Independent, but the executable file of the C++ program cannot run on different Operating systems/platforms.

C++ is a portable language and programs made in it can be run on different machines. It is the concept of carrying the instruction from one system to another system. In C++ Language .cpp file contain source code, we can edit also this code. .exe file contain application, only we can execute this file. When we write and compile any C++ program on window operating system that program easily run on other window based system. When we can copy .exe file to any other computer which contain window operating system then it works properly, because the native code of application an operating system is same.

4)    Abstract Data types

In C++, complex data types called Abstract Data Types (ADT) can be created using classes.

5)    Mid-Level Programming Language

C++ can be used as both a low-level and high-level language. As a low-level language, C++ is used for drivers and kernels. While as a high-level language, it is used for developing games and desktop applications. This is why C++ is also known as a mid-level programming language.

C++ is a structured and procedural programming language that makes the execution smooth and fast. No garbage collection and features like dynamic typing make coding in C++ even faster.

6)    Structured Programming Language

C++ is a procedural programming Language. We know that a subset of the procedural programming language is a structured programming language. It allows users to break the whole program into smaller units or functions. This programming paradigm aims at improving the readability, reusability, and clarity of the code. This results in cleaner code and makes maintenance much easier.

7)    Compiler based

It is not possible to run C++ code without compilation, since it is a compiler-based programming language. To execute our program, we must first compile it using a compiler that translates the program into machine language which can be understood directly by the system. The resulting program is therefore highly efficient and faster than most interpreter-based languages, such as Python and Java.

C++ compiler is easily available, and it requires very little space for storage. First, we need to compile our program using a compiler, and then we can execute our program.

8)    Rich Library

C++ along with other added benefits provides users with a vast range of in-built libraries. These libraries help in making the software development process faster and better. Just by the use of proper header files, such libraries can be accessed by everyone. Developers have access to lots of in-built functions provided by C++ language. This saves time & makes development fast. Let’s look at some of the C++ header files & functionalities provided by it. It is most important features of C++ programming language.

<iostream>: Contains C++ standard input and output functions

<iomanip>: Contains stream manipulators that format streams of data

<cmath>: Contains math library functions

<cstdlib>: Contains function for conversions of numbers to text and vise versa, memory allocation, random numbers and various other utility functions.

<ctime>: Contains function for manipulating the time and date

<fstream>: Contains function for functions that perform input from files on disk and output to files on disk

<memory>: Contains classes and functions used by the C++ Standard Library to allocate memory to the C++ Standard Library containers

<iterator>: Contains classes for accessing data in the C++ Standard Library containers

<algorithm>: Contains functions for manipulating data in C++ Standard Library containers

9)    Memory Management

Memory Management is nothing but assigning memory space to the programs for the betterment of performance. C++ supports dynamic memory allocation, which supports freeing and allocating memory anytime. Not only this C++ also provides dynamic memory management techniques.

C++ uses new and delete unary operators to allocate and free memory respectively. We can even call the free() function to free memory anytime. The C++ language allows dynamic memory allocation, which means that we can allocate memory for a variable, object, or array at run time. In C++, memory is divided into stack and heap storage. Stacks refer to the memory allocated for variables inside functions. The heap, on the other hand, refers to unused memory that can be dynamically allocated. If you don’t know the amount of memory required to store information in a defined variable, the size can be determined manually during runtime.

While working with classes and objects, constructors and destructors can be used for the same purpose. C++ provides very efficient management techniques. The various memory management operators help save the memory and improve the program's efficiency. These operators allocate and deallocate memory at run time. Some common memory management operators available C++ are new, delete etc.

10)           Quicker Compilation

C++ programs tend to be compact and run quickly. Hence the compilation and execution time of the C++ language is fast.

11)           Pointers

C++ provides the feature of pointers. We can use pointers for memory, structures, functions, array, etc. We can directly interact with the memory by using the pointers. A pointer is a variable in C++ that stores the address of another variable. They point to a variable’s location in memory. Pointers are supported by C++ and can solve a large number of problems requiring memory access. A pointer can be used for memory, structures, functions, arrays, etc. Pointers are declared as:

int *pointVar;

Or

int* pointVar;

In the above example, var is a variable holding the value ‘5’ and 0x61ff08 is the address of the 

var (). pointVar is the pointer whose value 0x61ff08 points to the address of the variable var.

12)           Extensible

According to the IT world, extensible means something which can be modified or expanded from its beginning stages. C++ has been modifying its features with frequent version updates. The ability to adopt many new features with different versions makes C++ extensible. C++ programs can easily be extended as it is very easy to add new features into the existing program.

13)           Reusability

With the use of inheritance of functions programs written in C++ can be reused in any other program of C++. You can save program parts into library files and invoke them in your next programming projects simply by including the library files. New programs can be developed in lesser time as the existing code can be reused. It is also possible to define several functions with same name that perform different task. For Example: abs () is used to calculate the absolute value of integer, float and long integer.

14)           Popular

After learning C, it is the base language for many other popular programming languages which supports the feature of object-oriented programming. Bjarne Stroustrup found Simula 67, the first object-oriented language ever, lacking simulations and decided to develop C++.

As we have discussed, there should be no doubt that C++ is popular. It is fast, machine-independent, and can even perform both low-level and high-level operations. Precise control over memory use and efficiency makes it even more popular in developing games and desktop applications. With its support for object-oriented programming, C++ can be a good basis for a number of other programming languages. C++ is a favourite today for game development and complex business applications because of its incredibly fast speed and precise memory management. The language is applied to a variety of different fields requiring high-performance applications. Adobe products, Unreal Engine, and popular browsers such as Chrome and Firefox are all built using C++.

15)           Clarity

The keywords and library functions used in C++ resemble common English words.

16)           Case-sensitive

Just like any other modern programming language (Java, Python, JavaScript, etc.) even C++ is case-sensitive. This means that C++ treats uppercase and lowercase characters differently than they can be called as case sensitive programming language [Example c, c++, java, .net are sensitive programming languages.]. Otherwise it is called as case insensitive programming language [Example HTML, SQL is case insensitive programming languages]. In C++ programming 'break and BREAK' both are different.

For instance, COUNT and count will be read as two different identifiers. Languages like Fortran, HTML, SQL and BASIC are not case-sensitive.

17)           Powerful and Fast

C++ execution time and compiling time are faster than any other programming language. In addition, it supports a wide range of data types, functions, and operators. As a result, operating systems, browsers, games, and so forth, can be developed. C++ is an advanced language that supports a wide range of programming techniques, like procedural, object-oriented, functional, etc. Due to this, C++ is very powerful and flexible.

C++ is a powerful and flexible language because of most of the powerful flexible and modern UNIX operating system is written in C++. Many compilers and interpreters for other languages such as FORTRAN, PERL, Python, PASCAL, BASIC, LISP, etc., have been written in C++. C++ programs have been used for solving physics and engineering problems and even for animated special effects for movies. C++ is a very powerful programming language, it have a wide verity of data types, functions, control statements, decision making statements, etc.

18)           Error are easily detected

It is easier to maintain a C++ programs as errors can be easily located and rectified. It also provides a feature called exception handling to support error handling in your program.

19)           Recursion

Recursion is a process where a function calls itself, directly or indirectly. Such functions are recursive functions. C++ supports recursion which allows the user to reduce the time complexity of a code. It provides code reusability for every function.

20)           Strongly Typed Languages

The list of arguments of every function call is typed checked during compilation. If there is a type mismatch between actual and formal arguments, implicit conversion is applied if possible. A compile time occurs if an implicit conversion is not possible or if the number of arguments is incorrect.

Summary

As an extension of the C language, C++ enables the use of object-oriented paradigms. It is the oldest and yet most efficient programming language that continues to dominate the programming field. Due to its imperative, object-oriented, and generic features, it is widely used nowadays for competitive programming. Nowadays, C++ code plays quite an integral role in many contemporary systems such as operating systems, web browsers, databases, etc. Additionally, the speed of C++ makes it a good choice for performance-critical applications.

In this article, we have highlighted the remarkable features of C++. This array of powerful features of C++ makes it an ideal choice for novice programmers just starting out. Its outstanding features allow it to reduce the overall development time and cost of projects.