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Both Bjarne Stroustrup and C++ FAQ LITE believe it is easier to directly start learning C++.
Reasons are:
- C++ is safer [1], e.g. it has increased type safety, which makes the use of Hungarian notation unnesessary
- C++ is more expressive [1]. This is due to that C++ enables Object Oriented Programming
- C++ reduces need to focus on low-level techniques as there are better libraries [1] (the STL). For example, using a std::vector saves you a lot of time managing and writing functions for arrays
- C uses malloc instead of new, the latter being safer [3]
- C uses printf instead of cout, the latter being safer [3]
- C unnecessary uses type-dependent switch statements, where C++ can solve these using polymorphism [3]
- C++ has error-code exception handling, as it supports the keywords try and catch [3]
- C++ makes #define macros unnecessary, using template or inline functions [3]
- C++ can overload functions with the same name, if the compiler can distinguish them from the function its arguments
After having learned the common subset of C and C++, it is easier to find out the
trickier parts of C [1,2]. See C++ keywords for a list of C++ keywords.
- Bjarne Stroustrup. The C++ Programming Language (3rd edition). ISBN: 0-201-88954-4, chapter 1.2: 'Learning C++'
- http://new-brunswick.net/workshop/c++/faq/how-to-learn-cpp.html, topic [28.2]
- http://www.research.att.com/~bs/bs_faq.html#prerequisite
Go back to Richel Bilderbeek's C++ page.
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