Introduction to C++

What is C++?

C++ is a general-purpose, high-performance programming language created by Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of C. It supports both procedural and object-oriented programming and is known for giving programmers fine-grained control over system resources.

Key Features

• Performance — compiles directly to machine code; no runtime overhead
• Control — manual memory management with pointers and references
• Multi-paradigm — procedural, OOP, and generic programming (templates)
• Standard Library (STL) — rich set of containers, algorithms, and utilities

Your First C++ Program

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
    cout << "Hello, World!" << endl;
    return 0;
}

Compiling and Running

g++ -o hello hello.cpp   // compile
./hello                  // run

Where C++ is Used

• 🎮 Game engines (Unreal Engine, Unity internals)
• 💻 Operating systems (parts of Windows, Linux kernel modules)
• 🤖 Embedded systems, robotics, IoT
• 📈 High-frequency trading and financial systems
• 🌐 Browsers (Chrome V8 engine, Firefox)

C++ Standards

C++ has evolved through many standards: C++98, C++11, C++14, C++17, C++20, and C++23. Modern C++ (C++11 and later) introduced auto, lambdas, smart pointers, and range-based for loops — making the language much safer and more expressive.