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From: jsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: C++ description ?
Message-ID: <619@hadron.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 18-Nov-86 09:23:14 EST
Article-I.D.: hadron.619
Posted: Tue Nov 18 09:23:14 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 18-Nov-86 21:07:51 EST
References: <250@ritcv.UUCP>
Reply-To: jsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao)
Distribution: net
Organization: Hadron, Inc., Fairfax, VA
Lines: 25
Summary: Read the book ...

In article <250@ritcv.UUCP> sxc8765@ritcv.UUCP (Sean P. Cunningham) writes:
>Plain and simple, can some please explain the differences between
>C and C++, I am totally lost.

The best way to do this is to run down to your local book store
and get a copy of Bjorne Stroustrup (I can't figure which letters
I've added in the name) 's book on C++.  It has a good section on
differences from C.  Although several simple syntactic sugars have
been tacked back onto current and ANSI C, the basic difference
seems to be that types are more than just hints to the compiler
on how to handle a data object.  They are themselves "objects"
that can have functions attached to them to influence initial-
isation, assignment, disposal, and other operator action on objects
of those types.  Since these functions can be local to objects,
this promotes modular programming.  Many C programs can be compiled
by a C++ compiler, such as CC, unchanged.  But you can also write
programs with type-functions set up such that manipulation of
a data object in the code structures is quite simplified: in
fact, almost to the point where you program by picking up an
object and waving it around.  (This is an extreme oversimpli-
fication of what I understand of object-oriented programming.)
-- 

	Joe Yao		hadron!jsdy@seismo.{CSS.GOV,ARPA,UUCP}
			jsdy@hadron.COM (not yet domainised)