C++ is an "object oriented" programming language created by Bjarne Stroustrup and released in 1985. It implements "data abstraction" using a concept called "classes", along with other features to allow object-oriented programming. Parts of the C++ program are easily reusable and extensible; existing code is easily modifiable without actually having to change the code. C++ adds a concept called "operator overloading" not seen in the earlier OOP languages and it makes the creation of libraries much cleaner.

C++ maintains aspects of the C programming language, yet has features which simplify memory management. Additionally, some of the features of C++ allow low-level access to memory but also contain high level features.

C++ could be considered a superset of C. C programs will run in C++ compilers. C uses structured programming concepts and techniques while C++ uses object oriented programming and classes which focus on data. Read about the History of C and also about the History of C++.

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