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Noishorgo Broto
Noishorgo Broto

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Is C++ worth learning in 2023?

As time is passing, many languages are coming. Some are more productive, some are powerful, some are more memory safe and some are build with updated concurrency system in them. I am new learner in this field with great passion to become a programmer. C++ was built in 1979, till now it is a powerful, efficient and object-oriented language. There are many languages that are now competing with it like Go, Rust, Mojo etc. Will it be fruitful to learn C and C++ in 2023 to become a productive programmer? The market is now full opportunities. What should I choose? Please Comment below...

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neilb_92 profile image
Neil B

If you want to do automotive/aerospace/medical/etc, then C & C++ will be around for a long time. Getting things SIL certified is extremely difficult and rightfully so, seeing as lives are at stake. Aerospace and defense still like to use Ada of all languages.

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Noishorgo Broto

Hello, Neil. Actually I am interested in Backend development, Embedded system and operating system development. So, should I learn this language now?

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neilb_92 profile image
Neil B

They're still a very solid choice for embedded and OS development. Especially where HIDs (human interface devices) are used in industrial systems and IoT, where you might see Qt and boot2qt appear frequently.

You can use them for backend, but it gets a little messy. Python is very widely used in data engineering and api development, and can help meet that gap. It's also used in a number of build tools for embedded.

If you need motivation to get into C, just pick up a cheap esp32 or similar that supports a FreeRTOS variant. Then you have a new toy for motivation.

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Christophe T • Edited

There are indeed lots of nice languages to learn in 2023. Many new will follow and some will not survive. The good news is that whatever language you will learn, you will discover techniques also relevant for other languages, and concepts that are unique but useful to know. So it's never a loss of time!

Languages such as C++, but also C#, C and Java are here to stay because of their immense code base with work for the 30 years to come. So from a career perspective C++ is still a good choice, depending on the branch you're targeting.

If you're afraid of learning a dusty language, be aware that C++ was substantially modernised in 2011 and every new version of the standard brings new powerful concepts with it. The C++ of now has little to do with the C++ of the 80's.

If your interest is driven by performance and energy efficiency, (this study by Amazon engineers places Rust, C, C++ in the top 3 performers. So the choice is yours and C++ is still in.

The question is the long term market traction. Rust is new, has a lot of attention and many predict a bright future. But nobody has a crystal bowl and there is no guarantee yet; it could well end in a niche (like Swift, another very modern and efficient language, which didn't make it to the backends despite its shining promises). So why not learn both ?

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Pavel Sanikovich

in my opinion, Rust is the best choice for newcomers now, if the compiled languages preferred