C++

C++ (pronounced cee plus plus) is a general purpose programming language. It has imperative, object-oriented andgeneric programming features, while also providing the facilities for low level memory manipulation.

It is designed with a bias for systems programming (e.g. embedded systems, operating system kernels), with performance, efficiency and flexibility of use as its design requirements. C++ has been found also useful in many other contexts, including desktop applications, servers (e.g. e-commerce, web search, SQL) , performance critical applications (e.g. telephone switches, space probes) and entertainment software, such as video games.

It is a compiled language, with implementations of it available on many platforms. Various organizations provide them, including the FSF, LLVM, Microsoft and Intel.

C++ is standardised by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which the latest (and current) having being ratified and published by ISO in September 2011 as ISO/IEC 14882:2011 (informally known as C++11). The C++ programming language was initially standardised in 1998 as ISO/IEC 14882:1998, which was amended by the 2003 technical corrigendum, ISO/IEC 14882:2003. The current standard (C++11) supersedes these, with new features and an enlarged standard library.

Before standardization (1989 onwards), C++ was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Labs, starting in 1979, who wanted an efficient flexible language (like C) that also provided high level features for programme organization.

Many other programming languages have been influenced by C++, including C#, Java and newer versions of C (after 1998).