History of C++
The journey of the C and C++ programming language.
Origins in C (Late 1970s):
✔C programming language was developed in 1972 by Dennis Ritchie at bell laboratories of AT&T (American Telephone & Telegraph), located in the U.S.A. Dennis Ritchie is known as the founder of the c language.
✔It was developed to overcome the problems of previous languages such as B, BCPL, etc.
C with Classes (1980):
✓In 1980, Bjarne Stroustrup introduced the concept of "C with Classes," an extension of the C language that added classes and other object-oriented features.
✓It allowed developers to define their own data types and functions, making code more modular and easier to maintain.
C++ (1983):
✔In 1983, Bjarne Stroustrup renamed the language from "C with Classes" to "C++," which represents the increment operator (++).
✓The new name reflected the language's evolutionary nature and highlighted its C roots.
First C++ Compiler (1985):
✓ The first C++ compiler, known as Cfront, was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup in 1985.
✓ Cfront translated C++ code into C code, which was then compiled using a traditional C compiler.
✓This early version of C++ lacked many of the features that later became integral to the language.
Standardization (1998):
✓C++98, also known as C++03, was the first standardized version of C++ released in 1998.
✓The standardization brought consistency to the language and ensured that code written in one compiler would work with another.
C++11 (2011):
✓C++11 was a significant update to the language, bringing numerous new features and enhancements.
✓ Some key additions included lambda expressions, auto keyword, range-based for loops, smart pointers, and move semantics.
✓ This update marked a major shift in how C++ was used and perceived by developers.
C++14 (2014):
✓ C++14 was a minor update that provided improvements over C++11 but did not introduce any major language changes.
C++17 (2017):
✓C++17 introduced several important features such as structured bindings, constexpr if, inline variables, and several improvements to existing features.
✓It further enhanced the language and made it more expressive and easier to use.
C++20 (2020):
✓ C++20 brought numerous new features, including modules, coroutines, ranges, concepts, and various standard library enhancements.
✓This release aimed to make C++ code more concise, readable, and efficient.
C++23 (Upcoming):
✓As of my last update in September 2021, C++23 was under development, and several proposals were being considered for inclusion.
✓The exact features and changes of C++23 would depend on the decisions made during the standardization process.