By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
billsalias on 26 February 2008
Edit Thread
Words Of Wisdom said:
billsalias said:
Words Of Wisdom said:
Lingyis said:
yeah, agreed. C++ without OOP is not C++. it's a big reason why C became C++.

indeed, on resumes, i've been told to explicitly say OOP next to C/C++ because apparently a lot of people put down C++ when what they really know is just C.

OOP is a programming paradigm akin to Functional or Procedural.

It is currently the most popular one (much akin to how relational row-based databases are the most popular), however that doesn't make it necessarily the best one for every situation.

Languages as well as techniques/paradigms are simply tools in a good developer's toolbox. Approaching any single tool as the silver bullet solution to all problems will fail.


I agree completely that OOP is just another tool. But C++ was designed from the ground up to be used for OOP. Not knowing OOP and claiming to be an expert at C++ is akin to not knowing how to read blueprints and claiming to be a master architect. Both are possible if you use other means to plan your work and communicate it to others, but it would be the exception and not the rule.


C++ does indeed add much of the necessary OOP functionality to C such as polymorphism and multiple inheritence however it is in no way a requirement. The transition from C to C++ is much akin to PHP 4 to PHP 5 (for a more modern comparison); it adds functionality and makes many more tools available to the developer without requiring them.

If you want to see languages really designed with OOP from the ground up, look to Ruby or Smalltalk.


 We are close to agreeing. As you said C++ has many features that were added to the language with OOP in mind. If you do not know OOP concept it is unlikely, though not impossible, that you are using those features to their fullest if at all.


As a counter example, templates is a feature in C++ that can be used to great benefit without any OOP concepts getting involved. So yes you can accomplish many tasks with C++ without using OOP concepts, but you are unlikely to be using C++ to its fullest.

But still considering all you can do with C++ without OOP, if I was interviewing an engineer that claimed to be a senior C++ engineer and he did not have a handle on OOP concepts, I would not consider hiring him into a senior role. For that matter a senior engineer period, be it for Java, Objective C, .NET, javascript, actionscript, or any other modern language development.