The language is popular for use in developing large-scale video games, operating systems, machine learning tools and databases.
What is C++ used for?
- C++ is often used in the development of operating systems, games, browsers, libraries and desktop software.
C++ is a general-purpose programming language, meaning its uses can vary greatly. Though one of the oldest programming languages in use today, C++ is not considered a legacy language and is often used in the development of high-performance software, as well as for the development of popular web browsers like Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Microsoft Edge. C++ also powers the Google search engine, medical technology such as MRI machines, intensive film graphics, safety-critical flight software and financial software infrastructure, either as the primary language or in conjunction with other powerful programming languages.
Is C better than C++?
- C++ is an evolution of C that offers both procedural and object-oriented programming capabilities.
C and C++ are closely related and share many of the same principles. Programmers who become skilled in C++ could easily write in standard C if needed, such as when maintaining the legacy codebase of a large organization. The primary difference between the two is that while both languages offer procedural programming, C++ can handle both procedural and object-oriented programming. Some widely used libraries available for C++ exclusively include the C++ Standard Library, the Boost collection of libraries, Poco and OpenSSL, which can be used with several other languages as well.
Should I learn C++ or Python?
Generally speaking, Python is a better language to learn for machine learning and data analysis while C++ is best for game development.
Both Python and C++ are general-purpose programming languages, but Python is a high-level language, making it more manageable to read and understand at first glance. C++ requires learning more syntax rules and programming conventions in order to properly use it while Python syntax is nearer to natural English than C++. Python is also easier for beginners to pick up due to its lack of low-level tasks such as memory allocation or stack sizes, allowing for more experimentation without pre-planning and making it ideal for machine learning uses.
Python can serve as a back-end development language, especially in conjunction with the Django framework, largely due to its ease of use and scalability. JavaScript is still more commonplace for back-end programming, however, due to the many frameworks that currently exist for the language.
