Origins and early development of C++

Summary

C++ was created by Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Labs, beginning in 1979 with a language called “C with Classes,” an extension of the C compiler (Cpre). Early additions included classes, derived classes, strong typing, inlining, and default arguments, aiming to keep C-like efficiency while improving program organization through higher-level abstractions. In 1982, Stroustrup started designing a cleaned-up successor to “C with Classes,” initially referred to briefly as C84 before adopting the name C++. The language incorporated major object-oriented and type-safety features such as virtual functions, function and operator overloading, references, const, improved type checking, user-controlled dynamic memory allocation (new/delete), and // single-line comments. Stroustrup also built Cfront, the C++ compiler front end (1982–1983), and in 1985 released the first edition of “The C++ Programming Language,” which served as the main reference before an official standard existed.

Key Points

• 1

  C++ originated from Stroustrup’s 1979 work on “C with Classes,” an extension of C focused on adding object-oriented features.

• 2

  The early 1980s redesign produced C++ with core OOP and language features (e.g., virtual functions, overloading, references, const) and included the development of the Cfront compiler front end.

• 3

  C++ first appeared in 1985 with a published reference book and a commercial implementation, preceding later formal ISO standardization.