I was shuffling through some old backup files when I came across this report I wrote in 2002. It’s unique, original content, so enjoy:

Elliot Lee
12-05-02
Period 5

C/C++ Report

There have been many programming languages developed for making applications for computers. Some of the most popular of these are C and C++. C is a widely used programming language, and C++ is often known as an extension of C.

C and C++ are actually two different languages with different ISO (International Organization for Standardization) committees. With C, all code is in functions, and structures cannot have methods. But with C++, code can be reused between projects with classes. C does not support function overloading, while C++ does, and C code is generally leaner and more portable than C++ code. However, C++ is better for larger projects, mainly because of its support for classes.

C has a long history. It was derived from the B programming language and developed at Bell Laboratories from 1969 to 1973. The first published description of the language came out in 1978 with Brian Kernighan and Dennis Richie’s book, “The C Programming Language.” Early versions of C were known as K&R C. The early development of C was linked very closely with the development of the Unix operating system, so until 1980 the language was almost exclusively associated with Unix. With the creation of C, most of Unix was rewritten completely in C. The needs of Unix influenced the development of C.

When microprocessor-based computers became widespread in the 1980s, C became very popular. Beginning in 1982 it became clear that the K&R book’s description

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