C++ in Business and Academia
David Strum
April 11, 2010
CIS242-002016
Strayer University
Introduction
Since its creation in the early 1980s by Bjarne Stroustrup of AT&T Bell Labs, C++ has become one of the most popular programming languages in business and academia. C++ is an extension of the C programming language. The difference between the two languages is that C is a low-level procedure-oriented language where C++ is considered a middle-level object-oriented programming language. When using C++ to accomplish a task, “the programmer views the problem as a set of interacting object, each with its own properties and behaviors” (Molluzzo, 2006). Before, with C, the task was broken down as a series of steps instead.
The C++ programming language had many advantages over other languages because it is a middle-level language, portable, small, and as mentioned before, object oriented. Because C++ is middle-level, it combines some of the capabilities of low-level assembly languages with the ease of use of high-level languages while maintaining about the same level of control over the computer. C++ is a portable programming language meaning like other high level languages, it can execute on several systems with minor modifications. This is good for developers because they don’t have to start over and develop an application for each platform they want to run it on. This saves time and money which leads to more efficient programming and business practices. When compared to languages like Visual Basic, C++ is considered a small programming language. It doesn’t contain all the built-in features as Visual Basic does and only contains 60 keywords versus 150. C++ is a simple language but requires the programmer to use “programmer-defined and built-in functions and classes” (Molluzzo, 2006).
The C++ programming language is portable meaning it is not tied to any specific hardware platform or operating system. C++ is has been one of the most widely...