C++ is a general-purpose programming language created by Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language. It’s widely used for game and web development, machine learning and data mining applications, and much more. In recent years, high-level languages, such as Python, Java, and JavaScript, have seemed to surpass C++ in popularity and usage. This leads developers to ask the question: Is C++ a good language to learn for 2022?
The short answer is yes! But in this article, we’ll dive into a longer answer and get more specific. We’ll explore what C++ is used for, ways to start learning C++, and what kinds of career opportunities C++ experience can bring you.
Let’s get started!
We’ll cover:
Try one of our 300+ courses and learning paths: C++ for Programmers.
C++ is also used to create many popular services, such as MySQL, Microsoft Windows and Office, macOS, and more. It’s a go-to language for large embedded systems. It’s often used for system programming and building applications with resource constraints. C++ is a great language to use whenever you have a large buffer and in cases where you have high concurrency and need minimum latency. This applies to server applications and games.
There’s a reason why C++ remains one of the most popular programming languages. The language has many solid features and advantages, including:
Right now, C++ ranks as the 4th most popular language in the world according to the TIOBE index and the IEEE spectrum. C++ is one of the standard languages within back-end development. It’s an extremely fast and efficient language. Many tools and frameworks rely on the speed and efficiency of C++. It’s in high demand now, and it will remain in high demand in 2022 because of its reliability, performance, and efficiency.
C++ is a great language to learn if you’re a programmer who wants a deep understanding of how computers work. C++ lets you get hands-on with low-level programming concepts, and it helps you understand how computers think and operate. Other languages and programming concepts might make more sense to you after you learn C++.
Whether or not you want to learn C++ for 2022 depends on your personal and career goals. In general, learning C++ will open up more opportunities for you as a developer.
C++ is known to be one of the most difficult programming languages to learn over other popular languages like Python and Java. C++ is hard to learn because of its multi-paradigm nature and more advanced syntax. While it’s known to be especially difficult for beginners to learn, it’s also difficult for programmers with no experience with low-level languages. While it does take more time to write C++ code, the language has been modernized to present high-level abstractions. These abstractions can be used to code very efficiently. You can write code quickly with C++ 14, C++ 17, and C++ 20.
While some developers suggest learning C before C++, others argue that if you’re interested in working with C++ in your career or in personal projects, there’s no need to dedicate time to learning C (unless you want to, of course!). If you’re completely new to programming, it’s important to learn computer programming in a language-agnostic way. There are many fundamental concepts that are critical to software development as a whole. You can set yourself up for success by learning those fundamentals first, so you can dive into a language feeling prepared and confident.
Many developers believe that learning C++ can help you learn some other languages, like Java, C#, Python, or Go, a lot more easily.
Try one of our 300+ courses and learning paths: C++ for Programmers.
The best way to learn a programming language is to jump right in. As mentioned before, the way in which you start learning C++ will depend on where you’re at as a developer. If you’re completely new to programming, we suggest that you take the time to familiarize yourself with fundamental programming concepts so that you can approach a new language with a more solid foundation. When you’re ready to dive into C++, there are many resources available to you.
There’s no shortage of C++ tutorials and C++ courses you can take to further your learning. If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll want to begin with C++ basics, such as arrays, constructors, and iterators. This C++ beginners tutorial will help you get started with the fundamentals. If you’ve already learned the basics, this intermediate C++ tutorial explores intermediate concepts such as pointers, vectors, and maps.
As a C++ programmer, you’ll have many different job opportunities to choose from. Many top tech companies are looking for C++ developers. Let’s take a look at some of the job opportunities offered by those companies, along with the average salary for those positions. The following companies are all hiring for software engineers with C++ experience:
Company | Average salary (in Seattle, WA) |
Microsoft | $126,341 |
$141,591 | |
$133,322 | |
Amazon | $126,341 |
Boeing | $104,827 |
Salesforce | $118,131 |
The C++ programming language remains one of the most popular languages in software engineering and computer science. While it’s known to have a steep learning curve, it’s a widely used low-level programming language used to build many relevant applications. There are many benefits to learning a language that’s close to bare metal because it helps you better understand how computers work.
There’s no better time than now to learn C++. Get started learning fundamental C++ programming concepts with Educative’s curated learning path C++ for Programmers. This learning path explores topics such as:
The path will get you up to speed with C++. You’ll be taken from basic to advanced C++ concepts, all with hands-on practice, in-browser coding environments, and quizzes to test your understanding. By the end, you’ll have enough experience to confidently solve real-world problems using C++.
Happy learning!
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