Introduction

C is a general-purpose procedure-oriented programming language developed by Dennis Ritchie in 1972 at Bell Telephone Laboratories (now AT and T Bell Laboratories).

C evolved from older languages like BCPL and B language.

C is a middle-level language as it has features of both high-level (development of the program is more straightforward and more understandable) and low-level languages (direct interaction with hardware).

Previous languages (BCPL and B) from which C is evolved are 'type-less' languages, C introduced the concept of data types and many other features.

Unix operating system and its applications are almost entirely written in C. The UNIX operating system’s development started in 1969, and its code was rewritten in C in 1972. The C language was actually created to move the UNIX kernel code from assembly to a higher-level language, which would do the same tasks with fewer lines of code.

Why named as 'C'

The name "C" was derived from its predecessor, the B programming language developed by Ken Thompson. C was created as an evolution of B, with added features for structured programming and system-level access. The choice of the letter "C" reflects its position as the successor to B, as well as its versatility and closeness to the hardware "B" is the letter that comes before "C" in the alphabet.

Some widely known products and applications that use C

Operating Systems
Unix OS is entirely written in C, and the Linux OS kernel is written in C with some portion developed in assembly.


Mobile OS
The kernel of the world’s most popular mobile operating system Android is also having a part written in C.


Databases
The world’s most popular databases, including Oracle Database, MySQL, etc., are coded in C along with C++.


Programming Languages
Many modern programming languages including C++, Java, C#, Python, Ruby, PHP, etc., are influenced by the C language and have their initial implementations written in C.

Features and Advantages Of C Language

General-Purpose Programming Language

C is a general-purpose programming language which can be used to develop various applications of different domain.



Portable Language
C is a portable language. It means that C programs written for a computing environment can easily run on another computer having the same environment.



Block-Structured Language
C is a structured programming language that allows a complicated program to be broken into manageable subprograms called functions. It also allows free movement of data across these functions.



Mid-level Language
C is a middle-level language as it has features of both high-level (development of the program is straightforward, simple and more understandable) and low-level languages (direct interaction with hardware).



Extensible
One of the essential aspects of C is its ability to extend itself, i.e., we can define and add our functions to C library.



Reliable
It is more reliable as compared to its evolving languages.



Typed Language
C introduce the concept of data types and contains a powerful data definition. The data type supported are characters, alphanumeric, integers, long integer, float, double. It also supports string manipulation in the form of character-array.



Powerful Operator Support
C supports a powerful set of operators.



Vast Built-In Library
C language has a rich library that provides numerous built-in functions. It also offers dynamic memory allocation.



Hardware Interaction
C can directly interact with the hardware; as a result, the execution of the program is faster.



Graphical Applications
C also supports robust graphics programming.



Relation with assembly
C works closely with machines and matches assembly language in many ways. We can directly insert the Assembly code into C programs. 

Some drawbacks of C

C does not support the concept of OOPs as it is a POP language.

C does not support runtime checking.

C is not a strictly typed language, i.e., we can pass an integer value to a floating-type variable or vice versa.

C does not provide any data security.

C doesn’t have the concept of the namespace.

Introduction

C++ is an Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Language. It was developed by “Bjarne Stroustrup” in 1980. 
• Bjarne Stroustrup wants to develop a language that support object-oriented programming features with the powerful features of C language, and hence C++ evolved.
• C++ consists of C language features along with class-object construct features of Simula67.
• It is a superset of C language, i.e. C++ contains features of C language & adds some of its own.
Almost all programs written in C are also C++ programs.

Why named as 'C++'

Initially C++ is named as “C with Classes” by Bjarne Stroustrup but later in 1983,it was 
renamed to C++ (indicating an increment to C) which is proposed by Rrick Mascitti. 

Features

Object-Oriented Programming
C++ supports object-oriented programming (OOP) paradigms, in which developers are able to use attributes both of real-world entities and behaviors together to represent them as objects. This makes it easier to organize and maintain your code, allowing you to get better mileage per line.


Efficiency
C++ is famed for its efficiency and performance, making it ideal for resource-intensive applications where speed and optimization are key; this includes everything from system programming to game development as well high performance computing.


Standard Template Library (STL)
C++ includes the Standard Template Library (STL), a collection of reusable data structures and algorithms such as containers ( e.g., vectors, lists ) , and algorithms ( e.g., sorting , searching) . This saves developers time and effort by providing pre-built solutions for common programming tasks.


Multi-Paradigm
C++ supports several styles of programming. Procedural programming, which involves describing a process in small, symmetrical steps; object-oriented paradigms that consider systems as groups of related objects; and generic types (using templates)

Applications

System Programming
As a system programming language, C++ is extensively used for many kinds of program development projects such as developing operating systems, device drivers and system utilities. Based on your preference of efficiency, low level access and platform independence, it is superior in tearing apart mountains and pushing them into the sea.


Game Development
C++ is widely used in the game software industry. For example, people choose C++ to implement game engines or graphic libraries and even parts that are performance critical. In light of its efficiency, control over hardware resources plus support for multithreading, C++ makes an excellent choice for optimizing game performance.


High-performance computing
C++ is extensively used in high performance computing applications such as scientific simulations, numerical analyses and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In terms of its efficiency, facilities for parallelism as well as extensive libraries mean that it is well-suited to handling complex computational problems with ease.


Embedded systems
C++ has always been a favorite tool in this field, prevailing for everything from consumer electronics and automotive systems to industrial control systems and IoT devices. Your efficiencies, low-level access and platform independence make it fit right in its proper place with such minimal capabilities as memory constrained environments require.


Financial Software
C++ is applied in the financial industry for user applications such as brokering or insurance trading systems (algorithms that try to minimize risk). These algorithms are crucial because of their efficiency, speed and ability to handle complicated mathematical calculations: typically thousands or even millions variables.

Merits

Efficiency
C++ has high efficiency and runs well, so it is best for applications where high speed and optimization are desired.


Object-oriented programming
C++ has the characteristics of object-oriented programming (OOP) language systems, which not only facilitate code organization but also ensure that the code itself is reusable and maintainable.


Standard Template Library (STL)
The C++ language comes with its Standard Template Library (STL).This contains prebuilt data structures and algorithms for out-of-the-box application, which saves time of those who are coding.


Multi-paradigm
C++ is good as a multi-paradigm language which lets programmers to choose the most suitable approach for their personal application-giving times of both increased flexibility and expressiveness to programming.

Demerits

Complexity
C++ is difficult for beginners to learn. This is even more so if they have a background in higher level languages which are less formal than C++ and hence easier to understand.


Memory Management
C++ requires manual memory management, which can lead to "memory leaks," dangling pointers and other such errors if not handled properly.


Syntax Overhead
C++ syntax can be bulky and unwieldy, requiring more lines of code to achieve the same task as high-level languages with prebuilt abstractions or shortcuts.


Learning Curve
C++ has a steep learning curve. To become proficient, developers must grapple with advanced concepts such as pointers, memory allocation and principles of object-oriented design.