Oct. 14, 1985: C++ Adds to Programming

By Michael Calore October 14, 2010 | 7:00 am | Categories: 20th century, Computers and IT, Inventions

Bjarne Stroustrup
1985: The first official reference guide for the C++ programming language is published. The author, Bjarne Stroustrup, is also the language’s creator.

Stroustrup had been hacking away at his replacement for the C programming language at AT&T Bell labs since 1979, where he and his colleagues in the research department were given free reign to experiment with new ways of building software.

C++ went on to become one of the most popular programming languages ever created. It was designed to be a “general use” language: It can be run on just about any platform, and it shows up almost everywhere, especially in videogames and embedded systems.

“If I had thought of it and had some marketing sense,” Stroustrup says, “every computer and just about any gadget would have had a little ‘C++ Inside’ sticker on it.”



Read More http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/10/1014cplusplus-released

I walked into my classroom and a few of the students were arguing about which language is most important. One student was on the whole "The web is the future" kick, and was arguing passionately for a PHP/Ruby combination. Another student was arguing Java, as it's still king of the mobile world. A third was saying C#, because Windows still owns the desktop, and C# is the "best" current language for that platform.

I interrupted them, and informed them that anyone who wants a real programming job had better learn C++. I went over the COBOL fiasco of the 90's, and the importance of considering the installed base of existing languages when choosing a career technology path. PHP, Ruby, Java, C#, VB, Python, and other languages ad infinitum all have their uses and purposes...but the modern computing world is built on C++.

I tell my CS students the same thing every year. Learn whatever languages you want, for whatever career path you want to choose. Just make sure you learn C++ and Assembly FIRST.

C# is MS's version of C++, something I have avoided at all costs.

The OOP concepts of C++ are useful in PHP, too.

Java is not as fast as C++.

It actually is, like java, a direct descendent of the work Bjarn did developing a usable object oriented programming language. If you haven't used C# you might want to reserve judgement. For many sorts of applications it is in fact a pleasure to use.

Microsoft of course supports C++ in their VS product and has for decades.

They also support a real horror show: 'managed C++' which indeed should be avoided at all costs.

I avoided C# so as not to lock any code into MS - that is, dependent upon MS charges, support, etc. While using Visual C++ project for compiling, I decided to not use MFC after not initial bad experiences. Use wxWidgets instead; it provides portability to MAC and Linux. In comparison to MFC it is a pleasure to use.

would care to admit. One of the motivating factors for C# was the trouble (legal trouble) Msft was having with their own branded version of Java. And of course, like Java, C# is interpreted rather than compiled, and does garbage collection, and is designed for web applications, and is at least theoretically strictly platform independent. (There is a .net framework layer (Mono) that allegedly runs on linux, although nobody I know uses it.)

Anders is being clever. C# of course is NOT a CLONE of java, that isn't my claim nor anyone else's. But in terms of the taxonomy of programming languages, C# is a descendent of both Java and C++.

Thanks for the info.

As languages go, C# is really not a bad one, and is largely identical to Java. In fact, the best description I can think of, for C#, is that it's what Java would look like, if Java had been created specifically for the MS platforms. If you know Java, you already know 90% of C#.

I know that many programmers treat language like religion, and I've seen bloody flamewars...and once saw a guy quit his job...over the "superiority" of various languages. In my mind, it's a pretty stupid exercise.

If I'm writing a multiplatform app that will be used in multiple desktop environments, I'll write in in C++. General web applications? PHP/Ruby (with the occasional PERL tossed in when I'm feeling masochistic). If the client has an MS oriented support staff, I might write the web app in C#.Net just to make their lives a little easier. Desktop applications that will never see a non-Windows computer? C#. Desktop applications where the future use path is unknown? Java.

IMHO, only bad programmers fight language wars, and it's USUALLY because they only know one or two languages and are afraid that "their" technology will be obsoleted if they don't fight for it. I personally don't think there are any "bad" languages...only languages that are unsuited for a particular purpose.

MS used to offer J++; did J++ morph into C#?

In a way. J++ was microsoft's attempt to do an embrace/extend/extinguish on java like they did with HTML. It was most of java plus proprietary windows-only extensions, hoping that developers would start writing non-portable code in J++ that wouldn't run on other platforms, and let microsoft effectively take control of java.

Sun sued (compatibility was a condition of MSs license to the tech), and microsoft settled, with the settlement effectively ending the project.

The development of C# was at least partially due to the desire to create a "java-like" language that microsoft would own entirely, to avoid the legal issues with the J++ project. If J++ was still around, I doubt C# would be as prominent.

referred to J++ as "Polluted Java" -- their term.

Came to light in the middle of anti-trust case.

It raises the question 'which assembly language?', of course. Learning HLASM for IBM mainframes is cruel and unusual punishment, IMO; but assuming you're talking about an assembler for Intel architecture processors, it's hardware-specific stuff that is not used that often these days, it seems to me.