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The Common Wisdom about C++

1. It wasn't created from the ground up:

	The operator ++ (pronounced plus-plus) in the name C++ means that this language is an increment over C. C++ was first thought of as C with classes, then later an enhanced C. Dr. Stroustrup, the creator of C++ once wrote that he wanted C++ to be as close to C as possible, but no closer.
	It is usually considered that the obligation of being that much compatible with C didn't let Dr. Stroustrup design a clean language. This explains why C++ is not as elegant and purely object-oriented as languages like Eiffel, or Smalltalk. These languages were designed from a clean slate.
	Dr. Stroustrup denies this.

2. It is a complex language:

Newcomers to C++ can be awed by the puzzles that even some innocent language constructs can define. An advanced C++ magazine called C++ Report prints a monthly column called Obfuscated C++ where bewildering language entanglements are shown. Sometimes it is sadly funny to see how a much errors a poor C++ programmer can inadvertently create in his or her work.

3. It is a huge language

	The size of a language is defined by the number of its reserved symbols: words, operators etc. By this measure C++ is a huge language. That means it is more difficult to create compilers for C++ than it is for other languages. And that the compilers offer less confidence.
	As we all know a compilers is a form of software like any a word processor, a spreadsheet, etc. There's not still a way to fully demonstrate a software correction, particularly in these days of complex software and operating systems. One can only test a limited sample of all possible conditions for a software.
	So a complex software is much more prone to errors than a simple one. Thus, potentially a C++ program has a greater chance of being compiled incorrectly than does a program written in a simpler language. Even supposing that a program was compiled correctly, a complex language is also more likely to induce the programmer into error. That is, the greater number of choices one is faced with correspondlingly increases the odds of writing a buggy program.

 

However, from a programmer point of view, C++ has some advantages.

1. It is fast:

	It is common sense that C programs are efficiently translated to a processor's machine language, since C structure reflects the conceptual structure of a typical processor.
	Since the C++ programming language is so close to C, it is valid to expect the same thing for C++ programs;

2. It is portable:

	When the first implementation of C++ was done (see cfront below), the compilation generated C code. Wise guys from Bell Labs.
	As C had compilers for virtually every processor, that allowed C++ to spread all over C world. Every computer that had a C compiler could have a C++ compiler. Instant portability!
	Since Borland 3.1, C++ compilers yield straight machine code. And the situation nowadays is the opposite: with very few exceptions, there are no more C compilers available, for all C compilers are actually C++ compilers, that have C as a kind of subset.

3. It is powerful:

	C++ has lots of useful features: from low-level pointers to multiple inheritance, everything is there.
	This is why Dr. Stroustrup says that C++ allows multiparadigmatic programming. That means a programmer can use it to implement a structured design, without even thinking of OOP; or use it to implement orthodox object-oriented designs;

4. It is comfortable:

	Since C++ has lots of features, to program in it is very comfortable. Usually we don't have to contort the the language to do what we want: there's a feature just waiting for us somewhere. All a programmer has to do is use the feature.
	That is not a synomym for bad programming practices. A program with a bad design is a bad program in any language. That only means a programmer doesn't need to automatically be enforced to the same view of programming as the language's designer.

5. It is compatible with the C programming language:

	It is never useless to repeat that C++ is compatible with C. That means there are lots of softwares written in C that can be easily adapted to run in C++.
	For instance, operating systems: several operating systems are written in C. That means most of their features are instantly available to C++ programmers. They don't have to wait till someone creates a binding for their language.

6. It is faster.

	This is just a provocation that will bring the language wars to these pages, but any C++ programmer can only be pleased to see how fast his or her programs run.
	As someone said, other languages are fast ways to create slow programs.

 

C++ Language Definition, Critique and Puzzles

C++ Critique

C++ Standard Draft

Obfuscated C++

Up to the moment, no longer available.

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Acknowledgements:

• Background Patterns by J. Boersma.
• Timothy Nall, who believes that C++ Doesn't Really Exist, reviewed the text of these pages.
  I thank him for any paragraph that is correctly written. As I hadn't followed all his suggestions, any error is my own fault.
  Prof. Nall is also the author of a very interesting and informative site named The ELT Two Cents Café, dedicated to teaching English as a foreign language.

These pages were accessed times since 1998/10/05.