As for all programming languages, C++ owes a lot to earlier languages and evolves through the blending of ideas. This talk attempted to answer some common questions about the success of C++: why did it succeed? At what did it succeed? How did it maintain a steady course over more than 25 years? At what did it not succeed?

The scale of C++’s success was unanticipated and its continuing strength has left many language and business theorists puzzled, so explanations are required. Given the long time span involved and because no large system can be designed with 20-20 hindsight, a historical perspective is an essential part of any answer. A combination of technical, philosophical, and sociological issues must be considered.

This talk focused on the design aims of C++ and Dr. Stroustrup’s philosophy of incremental language evolution relying on feedback loops. It went into some detail on the ISO standards process which has been central to the stability and evolution of C++.