C++, high-level computer programming language. Developed by Bjarne Stroustrup of Bell Laboratories in the early 1980s, it is based on the traditional C language but with added object-oriented programming and other capabilities. C++, along with Java, has become popular for developing commercial software packages that incorporate multiple interrelated applications. C++ is considered one of the fastest languages and is very close to low-level languages, thus allowing complete control over memory allocation and management. This very feature and its many other capabilities also make it one of the most difficult languages to learn and handle on a large scale.