Why Bjarne Stroustrup’s C++ Still Powers Modern Software

21CTO Community Introduction:

Today we introduce Dr. Bjarne Stroustrup, the “father of C++”. In 1982 at Bell Labs, he extended the C language with object‑oriented concepts, creating C++ and naming it to indicate its relationship to C.

The object‑oriented paradigm then spread across development, boosted by the Standard Template Library (STL) and Microsoft’s VC++ platform, making C++ a cornerstone of software engineering.

C++ continues to play an indispensable role in its strong suits. Stroustrup has devoted himself to improving and promoting the C++ standard; his books such as “The C++ Programming Language”, “Design and Evolution of C++”, and “C++ Annotated Reference Manual” are classic learning resources.

In recognition of his major contributions to computing, especially the innovative C++ language, Stroustrup received the 2017 Faraday Medal, the most prestigious award of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Since 1922 the Faraday Medal has honored outstanding achievements in science, engineering and technology; past laureates include Roger Needham, Sir Maurice Wilkes, JA Ratcliffe, Sir Edward Victor Appleton, Sir Ernest Rutherford, and Donald Knuth (2011).

Stroustrup modestly said he is honored to stand among such distinguished awardees and that the prize reflects the perfect work of the C++ community.

He began developing C++ in 1978 at Bell Labs, heavily influenced by the object‑oriented model of the SIMULA language created by Ole‑Johan Dahl and Kristen Nygaard, adding OO features and other extensions to traditional C.

Commercially released in 1985, C++ quickly spread and became a mainstream object‑oriented language in the 1990s, profoundly impacting software development practices.

Currently, Stroustrup is a visiting professor of computer science at Columbia University and a managing director in the technology division of Morgan Stanley in New York. His publications include several books and numerous valuable articles in academic journals.

He is also an honorary fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, and a fellow of IEEE and ACM, as well as a researcher at the Computer History Museum.

Stroustrup will continue to evolve C++, which remains widely used today, especially in large‑scale and infrastructure applications such as telecommunications, banking, and embedded systems.

He will receive the award at a ceremony in London on November 15.