Objectives

This section gives an overview of C++. It presents an outline of its history, and discusses the design principles underlying C++ and its heritage from C. It lists the keywords that C++ introduces in addition to the keywords employed in C, and characterizes the object-oriented constructs supported by C++. An example is given to illustrate the difference between realizing an abstract data type in C and realizing the same abstract data type in C++. Further, it illustrates the use of virtual functions when deriving classes by inheritance and discusses a number of additional features supported by C++.

Points to emphasize

• design principles -- efficiency
• terminology -- object, type
• syntax -- object, reference, pointer
• objects -- abstract data types
• inheritance -- virtual functions
• techniques -- operators, templates, overloading

Comments

Many of the difficult features of C++ need not be used in ordinary programs. Yet, many textbooks work out these details before discussing the realization of abstract data types in C++. I favor an approach which avoids the use of constructs like friends until they are really needed.