C++ Primer Part I

Part I: The Basics

Every programming language provides common features ?

• Built-in types such as integers, characters, and so forth
• Variables, which let us give names to the objects we use
• Expressions and statements to manipulate values of these types
• Control structures, such as if or while, that allow us to conditionally or
  repeatedly execute a set of actions
• Functions that let us define callable units of computation
• But hey differ in detail from one language to another.

Most programming languages supplement these basic features in which two ways ?

• They let programmers extend the language by defining their own types/data structure, and they provide
  library routines that define useful functions and types not otherwise built into the
  language.

C++ Types features ?

• the type of an object determines what operations can be performed on it. Some languages, such as Smalltalk and Python, check types at run time. In contrast, C++ is a statically typed language; type
  checking is done at compile time. As a consequence, the compiler must know the type of every name used in the program.

• C++ provides a set of built-in types, operators to manipulate those types, and a small set of statements for program flow control. These elements form an alphabet from which we can write large, complicated, real-world systems. At this basic level, C++ is a simple language.

• Its expressive power arises from its support for mechanisms that allow the programmer to define new data structures/types (mostly the class. sometimes we calle “class types” to distinguish them from the built-in type. C++, allow programmers to define types/class types that include operations as well as data.The Standard C++ library uses these features to implement a rich library of class types and associated functions.).

Why c++ supports mechanisms that allow the programmer to define new data structures.?

• Using these facilities, programmers can shape the language to their own purposes without the
  language designers having to anticipate the programmers’ needs.