The history of C ++ goes back to 1979 when Bjarne Stroustrup developed it at Bell Laboratories. Despite the C ++ language being more than 40 years old, it stands out from other modern programming languages because of its efficiency and countless application possibilities. It is still widely used, from embedded systems through AI applications, Virtual/Mixed Reality Solutions to video game development and in other fields requiring high performance. What makes it so unique that it hasn’t become an antique programming language but remains modern, general-purpose, and widely used?

Why DO developers enjoy programming in C++?

To find the answer to this question, we asked our C++ specialists what they appreciate the most in this language and what are the reasons they enjoy programming in it. The answers show that – among the many advantages of C ++ – there are a few that they value the most: 

• Independence: it’s platform-independent, which means that created program can run on a different operating system. Also, independent of any company or organization – its development is driven by the community.
• High control over program memory management and CPU usage
• Compliance with the zero-overhead principle, which means that
  “no feature should be added to C++ which would make any existing code (not using the new feature) larger or slower, nor should any feature be added for which the compiler would generate code that is not as good as a programmer would create without using the feature”. (source: https://isocpp.org/wiki/faq/big-picture#zero-overhead-principle).
• Efficiency: for low-level programming used in embedded systems and for a general-purpose programming language. It’s one of the best choices for building embedded systems: C++ has both the features of the high-level and low-level language, which gives it an advantage over other languages.
• Scalability
• High Portability
  
  

Kamil Żulewski, Lead C++ Developer:

– „C++ is an extremely powerful and flexible programming language. It supports multiple paradigms and styles. Typically, there are numerous ways to solve a given problem, and the programmer has a choice – I like this freedom a lot.
C++ design follows the zero-overhead principle, often defined as “what you don’t use, you don’t pay for.” It means that higher-level language and library features are independent, and no execution time nor space overhead will be introduced if the developer doesn’t want them. This language design rule was one of the key factors contributing to global C++ success.
Last but not least, C++ has been developing rapidly in recent years, and it happens very transparently. Language evolution is community driven – C++ is not owned by a single corporation, people, or companies related to some narrow domain. It’s one of the reasons will it will stay a modern, general-purpose, and widely supported programming language“.

Cathayoun Ghotbi, Mid C++ Developer:

– “I like programming in C++ because it’s a powerful language. It gives more control over resources (memory) than other languages and therefore enables optimizing the application’s performance. For those who like low-level programming C++ is almost a superset of C, and it’s easy to port C code to C++. And also, it’s possible to call C code from C++ and another way. It is platform-independent so that the program can run on a different operating system“.

Kamil Jarosz, Senior C++ Developer:

–„I like programming in C++ because it gives me complete control over how the program will manage memory and CPU usage. C++ is not easy, but it does offer the ability to create a program that runs very efficiently and will be scalable. Not without reason is that C and C++ are so often used in embedded systems, where resources are limited in many cases. However, C++ is not just for low-level programming, it is a general-purpose programming language, for programs operating on any level“.

Łukasz Marcinowski, Senior C++ Developer:

– „First, I will answer why I like to code at all. I like to create things, and coding gives me the feeling that I am an artist. Like the sculpture having marble stone, the programmer has the language. For me, it is C++, elegant and fast“.

Examples of C++ ApplicationS

C ++ is present in almost every area of software development. We can find real life-cases where C++ is used:

• browser (eg., Mozilla Firefox, Chrome)
• operating systems ( Windows, macOS, Linux
• embedded systems
• game development
• desktop applications (e.g., Adobe)
• business applications
• medical and engineering applications
• Database software (e.g., MySQL)

Overall, C ++ is useful when performance and low resource consumption matter. In some areas, this language is critical for the success of a system: video games, virtual reality, and highly reliable applications.
The usefulness and importance of this language are evidenced by the fact that big organizations such as Amazon, Facebook, Adobe, and HP rely on C++ for fast speed with lesser resources.

C++ ENGINEERS ARE IN HIGH DEMAND

Many major companies use this language daily to build their solutions, and C++ is still a highly demanded programming language. According to Tiobe Index from August 2022, it is among the top 4 languages (next to Python, C, and Java) having together a market share of almost 50%.

Due to the ubiquity of C ++ applications, the demand for good programmers with skills and experience is high, and – we can expect – this trend may evolve even more in the future with the ever-changing requirements.

At Sigma IT, we were pleased to build solutions for our Clients in various industries, where C ++ was the core of the used technology stack. Our teams were involved in creating solutions such as:

• Cloud-based mixed reality media production platform
• Digital Audio Workstation where the engine that synthesizes the music is written entirely in C ++
• Software Radio solution for 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G mobile network base station systems.

Our industry experience also includes creating connectivity/smart home solutions such as:

• Smart Home Management Application for the largest smart home provider in the Nordic. One of our three dedicated to this project teams consists of C++ developers responsible for rewriting the application layer that runs on the SmartHUB device, which integrates all sensors and is responsible for sending data to the cloud.

• Smart Home App with centralized home accessories management for the multinational retail company.

See our exampled projects.