ECEng2052 Chapter 1: C++ Basics

C++ Basics

• C++ is a general-purpose programming language developed as an extension of the C programming language.
• It was created by Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Labs in the early 1980s.
• C++ allows programmers to write software that can be compiled and run on many different systems with minimal customization.
• The language started as an extension of C but added support for classes and objects.
• The name "C++" is a wordplay because, in the syntax of C, the ++ operator adds an increment, implying an incremental improvement on C.

Structure of C++ Program

• A C++ program consists of:
  • Preprocessor directives
  • using namespace std; to allow the use of the standard library
  • int main() as the entry point of the program where execution begins
  • return 0; to indicate successful completion of the program

Example Program

• An example program to display "Hello welcome to C++" would include:
  • #include to include the standard input-output stream library
  • using namespace std;
  • int main() as the entry point
  • cout to display the output "Hello welcome to C++"