C++ (pronounced see plus plus) is a general purpose programming language that is free-form and compiled. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises both high-level and low-level language features.[3] It provides imperative, object-oriented and generic programming features.

C++ is one of the most popular programming languages[4][5] and is implemented on a wide variety of hardware and operating system platforms. As an efficient performance driven programming language it is used in systems software, application software, device drivers, embedded software, high-performance server and client applications, and entertainment software such as video games.[6] Various entities provide both open source and proprietary C++ compiler software, including the FSF, LLVM, Microsoft and Intel.

It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell Labs, C++ was originally named C with Classes, adding object-oriented features, such as classes, and other enhancements to the C programming language. The language was renamed C++ in 1983,[7] as a pun involving the increment operator. It began as enhancements to C, first adding classes, then virtual functions, operator overloading, multiple inheritance, templates and exception handling, alongside changes to the type system and other features.

C++ is standardised by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which the latest (and current) having being ratified and published by ISO in September 2011 as ISO/IEC 14882:2011 (informally known as C++11).[8] The C++ programming language was initially standardised in 1998 as ISO/IEC 14882:1998, which was amended by the 2003 technical corrigendum, ISO/IEC 14882:2003. The current standard (C++11) supersedes these, with new features and an enlarged standard library.