"Released in 1985, C++ is an
object-oriented programming language created by Bjarne
Stroustrup. C++ maintains almost all aspects of the C language,
while simplifying memory management and adding several features
- including a new data type known as a class (you will learn
more about these later) - to allow object-oriented programming.
C++ maintains the features of C which allowed for low-level
memory access but also gives the programmer new tools which
simplify memory management.
C++ is a powerful general-purpose programming
language. It can be used to create small programs or large
applications. It can be used to make CGI scripts or console-only
DOS programs. C++ allows you to create programs to do almost
anything you need to do.
Object oriented programming is essentially
building a program around self-contained collections of data and
code to modify that data; this programming model is in contrast
to a model that uses function that act on data scattered
throughout a program. Object-oriented programming (or coding, as
programming is commonly referred to) is an organizational style,
but it helps programmers create reusable code because the code
to do a specific thing is entirely contained within a single
section of code, and to use the code to perform tasks - for
instance, creating a menu - involves using only a small number
of functions to access the internals of the class. Think of it
as a black box that can be easily carried from place to place,
and that perform complex actions simply at the press of a
button: for instance, a microwave lets you heat food for a
specified time limit - say, two minutes - by typing in the time
and pressing the heat button. You do not need to know how the
microwave operates or why the physics works. In the same way
that self-contained appliances simplify life for the consumer,
object-oriented programming simplifies the transfer of source
code from one program to another program by encapsulating it -
putting it all in one place." Definition courtesy of:
cprogramming.com
