ere are Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0, Borland C++ Builder 5.0, Metrowerks Code Warrior. Linux has several compilers, the most frequently used being the freely distributed GNU CC (CC being another way to express C++) and the C compiler, GNU C.More and more systems programmers (and programmers at large) are switching to C++ and Visual C++ to develop powerful applications for the common user. Its flexibility and power allow for such amazing applications as developed by Adobe, who specialize in graphic and video manipulation (as well as their Adobe Acrobat PDF format which most federal, form-based, and professional documents are in) and Id Software, responsible for such games as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and the Quake Trilogy. The character sprites used in these games were most likely drawn in a program written in C++. Newer versions of the Linux operating systems are written in C++; Windows, especially its user interface coding, is written in C++; and there is not a single “800” phone call (a call paid for by the called party) that isn’t routed by a C++ program. Banking, trading, insurance, telecommunications, and military applications all use C++ as their development language of choice (Stroustrup, 12).The “Best Language”C++ is arguably the best current language for development on a wide range of systems, networks, and large corporate infrastructures - as well as applications on personal computers. However, there are always dissenting opinions. The question, “What is the best language?” is “ … the eternal debate of programming” (Parsons). The fact remains that people pick and choose favorites, and, by limiting their knowledge specifically to one language and its mastery, tend to forget that other languages do some things better than others. For instance, manipulation of strings (an array of alphanumeric characters) in the computer language Basic is arguably easier than the manipulation t...
