Although mastering C++ can be difficult, once you have it down you will enjoy many perks.
Programmers often work with several programming languages throughout their careers. We also see programmers who only work with one programming language. We often see C# specialists with decades of expertise and Java specialists with a few years. Learning multiple languages can make you more confident and skilled in your software development career. If you are able to master the Go language you will be able to understand many language design concepts that will improve your general programming skills.
It is also beneficial to learn Python, as we can use our Python knowledge in order to create any automation script. Undoubtedly, learning a new programming language brings new experiences and technical expertise. C++ offers many advantages over other programming languages. C++ is difficult to learn and takes time, unlike other modern languages. Most programmers nowadays skip C++ learning and prefer modern languages that provide more abstract development environments.
This is why C++ programming skills are essential for programmers who want to be programmers experts.
C++ is a motivator to study Computer Science Fundamentals
We can find core computer science theories behind every technically sound program. Git, for example, uses graph theory and hashing as well as many other fundamental computer science algorithms. See the Git codebase for an example of a merge sort implementation.
Merge sort implementation in git, screenshot was taken by the author
Every business is moving towards the cloud computing ecosystem, and attempting to automate their business processes. Therefore, most programmers nowadays do programming by solving business problems — not computer-science-related problems.
Even though they are working with business-oriented software projects, many of them have to use computer science theories to improve their code and make their software more efficient. Programmers need to have a solid understanding of computer science theory.
C++ is a high-level language with a better abstraction than C. However, C++ encourages the use of pointers and manual memory management to create technically sound concepts. C++’s standard library was designed to be more focused on computer science concepts, flexibility, and performance than on ease of development. You will learn C++ fundamentals unintentionally when you learn it.
C++ is a lightweight, high-performance, and simple solution for building light, portable solutions.
Modern programming languages tend to hide technical details using a pseudocode-like syntax. They don’t consider performance, lightweightedness or flexibility. C++ is still lightweight and the best choice to write performance-first software systems.
Golang, one of the most popular programming languages today, competes with C++ because it offers a C-like syntax and automatic memory management (via trash collection). Go makes large binaries so it is not suitable for lightweight use cases. Because Go is small enough to be used in cloud environments, most programmers prefer it. For lightweight and high-performance software development, programmers still prefer C++ to Go.
Go links the standard library implementation statically and increases a 1.2 Megabyte-sized Go binary to 1.5 megabytes when it imports fmt. C++ links a minimal binary of 16.5 kilobytes to 17.3 kilobytes if we include iostream. C++ binary size was less than 5% larger on GNU/Linux platforms, while Go binary size increased 50%.
This simple experiment shows that C++ is better suited for lightweight and high-performance software development. C++ is a fully-loaded, complex language. However, you can still choose your preferred features and write minimal code. This story will show you how to write minimal code in any programming language.
C++ Skills Make It Easier To Learn Other Programming Languages Faster
Programmers can learn different programming languages depending on their preferences. Programmers learn programming languages as they begin to work on enterprise-level software development projects. Some programmers learn programming languages for fun. Some languages are simple to learn, while others require constant experimentation to improve their skills.
C++ development patterns and the standard library are not easy to learn without a solid understanding of computer science and technical skills. Learning a new language is easy when you are proficient in C++.
The Best Language To Work With Operating System Apis
Each operating system has a programable interface that allows developers to interact with the operating system’s operations, such as file handling, process management, GUI rendering, and network request handling (via sockets). Since every operating system was written in C/C++, all these APIs expose C/C++-based interfaces.
GNU/Linux systems provide Unix-like APIs as well as GTK GUI libraries in C header files. Windows offers C-programmable interfaces through the well-known Win32 API function functions. Apple Clang LLVM compiler also supports Objective-C interfaces in macOS. Therefore, we can directly access any operating-system-level API with C++ since C++ is a superset of C, and Apple compilers let developers mix C++ and Objective-C. For example, see how Electron uses GTK C headers from C++ source files:
All other programming languages, however, require language-specific bindings in order to access the operating system APIs. Almost all operating-system-level frameworks are written in C++ due to this reason. These frameworks are C++-based:
- Electron
- React Native
- Flutter
- Neutrinos
Large software projects such as Chromium and Firefox use C++ to develop their programs.
Also Read: Why is there a hype about MEAN stack training?
C++ Knowledge Helps You Make Better Technical Decisions
Programmers don’t just write code according to the specifications. They also design and manage project structures. Software development is dominated by the design phase. It provides the foundation for the entire system. Both in the design phase and the development phase, we often need to make technical decisions.
C++ is a complicated language. There are many ways to solve the same programming problem. C++ is fast and flexible by design. It also allows programmers to optimize code in any way they want while allowing them full control over the execution of their programs. You need to make the right technical decisions in order to select the best C++ features that meet your needs.
C++ can be used in multiple paradigms, even though it is commonly known as an OOP-based programming language. Some programmers still use C++’s OOP paradigm. Some programmers also use C++ in procedural or functional programming paradigms. To make our source code simpler, sometimes we have to avoid certain C++ features. The Google C++ style guide recommends avoiding C++ exceptions. All these scenarios improve our technical decision-making skills.
Also Read: Best C C++ course in Noida
Conclusion
This story outlines the benefits of learning C++ for your programming career. There are many popular, stable, and well-known programming languages. There is no “best programming language”, as each programming language excels in certain areas. It’s wise to choose five programming languages that you enjoy and label them “My best programming language”.
if you carefully choose five programming languages that take into account every aspect. In the following story, I explain my favorite programming languages list.
C++ is not the same as learning React.js without C — learn C first and then get more familiar with C++ for all the perks you need in your programming career.
Thank you for reading.