C++ does not have its garbage collector but supports garbage collection through third-party libraries. As you know C++ is a compelling object-oriented language that supports a Graphical user interface. As you have come here to learn about Garbage collectors according to your requirements we are going to discuss briefly discuss about C++ and Garbage collection features.ย
Usually, garbage collectors can add some overhead to the program, so C++ programmers manually use memory management or garbage collection according to their needs. There are different types of garbage collectors available for C++, theyย are Boehm GC, Intel Threading Building Blocks, Microsoft Smart Heap, and DGC.
All garbage collector has a different type of algorithm to track and reclaim memory, and Garbage collector libraries offer types of features and performance. In this article, we are going to discuss C++, its Features, characteristics, performances, Garbage collection, and features. Now we discuss these topics one by one.
1. What is a Programming Language?
A Programming language is a way of writing computer programs that are used to give a command to the computer in a certain way. There are two types of programming languages procedural programming language and object-oriented language.
Formally programming languages are text-based languages but some languages have graphical user interfaces. Languages like C, C++, Java, and Cobol are compiler-based languages, and Python, PHP, JavaScript, and Perl are Interpreter-based languages.
2. What is C++ Programming Language?
C++ is a more powerful language than C and C++ is a more versatile language than C. This language was inspired by the C language and has a similarity in syntax and structure. Danish Computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup developed this language.
In 1985 this language was released as an extension of C programming language. This is a high-level programming language. This language is object-oriented, generic, and functional features. C++ is used for developing Operating systems, and applications.ย Moreover, C++ is a language that has several features and now we are going to discuss those features.ย ย
As an extension of the C language that incorporates the object-oriented paradigm, C++ is a general-purpose programming language. It is a compiled language that is imperative. Overall, C++ is a strong and adaptable programming language that is extensively used for a variety of applications and is suitable for both high-level application development and low-level system programming.
2.1. Object Oriented
However, C++ is an object-oriented programming language with similarities to C language, but C is a Procedural programming language and C++ is an upgraded version of C in a term of object-orientation. With this feature of object orientation, we can create objects while coding. These objects can be created or destroyed while programming. Object orientation has features like:
- Classes are blueprints and instances having templates from which objects are created.
- Objects are entities and instances of classes that are created.
- Encapsulation is used for wrapping Data in a single unit.
- Polymorphism means an object having many forms. This polymorphism is a composition of Poly which means many and morphism means form.
- Inheritance means inheriting data from parent class to child class.
- Abstraction means hiding data from the user which is not essential for users.
- This makes a program fully reusable, shorter development, and less code.
2.2. Simpleย
C++ is a language that is a simple language that provides a structured programming approach. This language is a library-rich language that has libraries like any, bitset, cstdlib, Chrono, tuple, and set.
2.3. Machine Independent
C++ is a machine-independent language but not a platform-independent language. The machine-independent language means a code that is compiled on the window and can be run on Mac, Linux, or Unix. The simplest way you can say that a piece of code that is written can be compiled and run on any environment or operating system.
2.4. High-Level Languageย
ย This means that C++ is a language that is closely similar to the comprehensible Language of English. It is also known as the Intermediate programming language because this language includes both low-level programming and high-level programming language.
2.5. Popular
This language became more popular than the C language. Because C++ supportsย features of Object Orientation. It is an intermediate programming language.ย C++ has no lack of simulations as other programming languages have problem Simulations.
2.6. Case Sensitive
C++ is a case-sensitive programming language that C++ cannot support Syntax errors. For example, court is used for printing an output of a programming language. Butย if write Cout in a piece of code then the compiler will show an error for this case error.
2.7. Compiler Based
This language C++ is a compiler-based language where a written piece of code is compiled first and after compilation that file of code becomes an executable file. A compiler-based language is faster to execute than an interpreter-based languageย while executing a file.
2.8. Dynamic Memory Allocation
Dynamic Memory Allocation means when a program is executed in C++ programming language then all the variables of the programs are allocated to theย dynamic heap space. This is because the compiler is not aware of howย much needsย to store particular information in a defined variable.
2.9. Memory Managementย
In C++ there is a very strong memory management system. Memory management refers to a process where the management of memory occurs. For example, if you are assigning a variable in a piece of code then there is no issue for C++ to assignย those variables as there is strong memory management.
2.10. Multiple Threading
This is the process by which we can execute two or more parts of a program for maximum utilization of the CPU. This feature of multiple threading was inducted in C++11. Access to multiple threading can be done by using POSIX threads or <pthread>.ย ย
2.11. Recursionย
This feature in C++ allows the reusability of Functions. Here we can call the function within the function.
2.12. Extensible
This feature in C++ provides easy access to extend or add new features to the existing program. Errors are easilyย encountered. Errorsย are easy to identify and rectify in C++. C++ has features like exception handling to support the error handling in theย program. Operatingย systems like Unix and many compilers of Fortran, Perl, Python, and Pascal are written in C++.ย
2.15. Clarityย
All English words are favored by keywords and library functions so all the words are clear. This means that the operator can be redefined which is a Plus operator used for addition as the plus can be used for string concatenation. After knowing about C++ and the features of C++ now it is time for some basic about C++.
3. Basic Data Type of C++ย
A strong general-purpose programming language is C++. Operating systems, browsers, games, and other applications can all be created with it. Different programming paradigms, including procedural, object-oriented, functional, and others, are supported by C++. Because of this, C++ is both strong and adaptable. The Data types of C++ are.ย
- Boolean stores the value of true or false values in 1 byte of size.
- Char means character. Char stores a single character, letter, number, or ASCII value in one-byte size.
- Int stores all the whole numbers that are without decimal value in two or four bytes.
- Float stores all the numbers with 6-7 decimal digits value in 4 bytes size.
- Double stores all the numbers with 15 decimal digits value in 8 bytes size.
4. The Operators of C++
4.1. Arithmetic Operator
These Operators are used to execute mathematical operations on variables and values. These operators are Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, and modular operation. Assignment operator. These operators are used for assigning value to a variable.ย ย For example, int x = 10 or x += 11. Here, the left side of the operand is a variable, and the right side of the operand is a value.ย
4.2. Comparison Operator
Here we compare two values or variables in the program. These operators perform crucial roles in decision-making and finding the answer.
4.3. Logical Operators
This operator is used to give logical solutions in the form of true (1) or false (0). these ย operators are &&, ||, and!
4.4. Bitwise Operator
These operators execute operations on integer data and bit-level. These operators are used for testing, setting, or shifting the bits. These bitwise operators are Bitwise AND Operator, Bitwise OR Operator, Bitwise XOR Operator, and many more.
5. The Conditions in C++
These statements are used for performing logical conditions in any piece of code. These condition statements are if, else, else if, and switch.
- If the statement is used to block the code before the execution if a specified condition is not true.
- Else statement is used to block the code before the execution if a specified condition is executing the code in the IF case.
- Else if statement is used to provide a new condition in IF case statement is not true.
- A switch statement is used to provide another block of code to execute in a program.
6. The Loops in C++
These statements are used for executing certain specified instructions until a required condition is not reached by a block of code. These loops are the while loop, for loop, and do while loop.
- While Loop โ These loops are used to execute a body of code when the while condition is fulfilled.
- For Loop โ This loop comes with three statements on conditions for execution of the loop.
- Do while โ This loop executes the block of code and then checks the condition then executes the complete code.
7. Arrays in C++
As opposed to defining distinct variables for each value, arrays are used to hold numerous values in a single variable. Declare the variable type, the arrayโs name enclosed in square brackets, and the number of elements the array should contain.
A data structure known as an array is provided by C++ and is used to hold a fixed-size sequential collection of objects of the same type. It is important to think of an array as a collection of variables of the same type even though it is used to store a collection of data. Contiguous memory addresses make up all arrays. The first element has the lowest address, and the last piece has the highest address.
This is used to store multiple values for a single variable, in place of declaring different variables for each of the same types. This is the simplest way to declare arrays. An example of the array is โ
ย ย ย ย Vehicle [4] = {โfortunerโ,โ Crystaโ,โ Tharโ,โ Porscheโ}
8. Exception in C++
When we execute any code, there is a very minor error in the code. The whole code is affected by the error.ย When this error occurs, C++ will stop and generate an error message. Then C++ will throw an exception. To handle these exceptions a term is created that is exception handling. Try, catch, and throw are keywords of exception handling.ย
- The try statement keeps or allows a block of code that has be high chance of error while it is being run.
- The throw in this block of code which has the problem detected is written.
- The catch block has code that is executed when the try code has an error.
After discussing C++ in this article now we are going to discuss Garbage collection briefly as we know that a Garbage collector is also a type of memory management technique.
9. What is C++ Garbage Collection?
Garbage collection is a technique of memory management. Garbage collection is a separate automatic memory management method that is used in programming languages. Here manual memory management is not preferred by the system.
In C++ a user needs to mention the memory that is used by a variable or value and if the memory used is not mentioned then it can deallocate, whereas the Garbage collector collects the memory from variables and values that are not in use now.
Garbage collectors only manage memory which is allocated to variables. Garbage collection was invented by an American scientist John McCarthy in 1959 to make easy work for memory management in Lisp. All the Garbage collector works on the same principles and algorithm. Most simply, garbage collection can be defined as all the objects that are not reachable are considered garbage, and garbage is collected by management.
Few languages are garbage-collected language because they need efficiency as part of their language. These languages are Java, C#, and almost all the scripting languages. Languages like C and C++ support manual memory management which works as same as garbage collector. Not only this few languages support both Garbage collector and memory management. Some of the errors or bugs can be prevented by using garbage collection they are.
- Sometimes memory pointed is already deallocated, but the pointer remains, and the pointer point to various data or variable that are already deleted.
- When we allocate the same memory or try to delete the memory which is deallocated. garbage collection helps.
- Handles the problems related to data structures and does memory and data handling efficiently.
- Handle the problem of memory exhaustion.
10. What is Manual Memory management?
This is a procedural method of allocating and deallocating memory for a program. This is in disparity with automatic memory management, which is executed by the Garbage collector. Here in C++, all the commands are done manually like new, and delete. Using new memory is manually allocated. After the allocation of memory in a heap and after its usage the memory needs to be deleted by the โdeleteโ command.
Memory management is the practice of controlling computer memory and allocating memory to specific programs to enhance system performance. Since arrays store homogeneous data, memory is typically allocated for an array at the time of declaration.
Sometimes it happens that the precise memory is unknown until runtime. We declare an array with a maximum size to prevent this from happening, but some memory will remain unused. We utilize the new operator to dynamically allot the memory at runtime to prevent memory wastage. Advantages of Manual Memory Management:
- There is control over memory usage from the programmer.
- The performance and speed are better.
- There is less memory overhead in the manual management of the memory.
The difference between Garbage Collection and manual memory management is manual memory management needs allocation and deallocation of memory from the programmer while Garbage collector does memory allocation automatically without interference from the user. Disadvantages of Manual Memory Management:
- This manual memory management is more complex and vulnerable to error.
- Manual memory management can guide to memory leaks.
- This memory management is not suitable for all types of software.
10.1. Advantages Of Garbage Collection
The Garbage collection offers memory management that makes the programmers stressless about memory management. So, a programmer can focus on the implementation of code. The outcome of this can lead to notable productivity in the result.
A Garbage collection helps to reduce memory leaks because it automatically reclaims unused memory. Memory leaks mean when a program allocates memory, but that allocation of memory is not required. Sometimes memory leaks can lead to a performance problem.
This feature helps the programmer not access freed memory accidentally which can lead to memory safety for the program. This feature of the garbage collector reduces the risk of security and Bugs. Garbage collection can improve the flexibility of the programs by making them less dependent on memory management systems.
The Garbage collection makes a program easy to understand and maintain. Because they give simple designs to the programs. This feature also improves the performance of the program by reducing dependency on manual memory management. To improve the reliability of the program by reducing the memory-related error.
10.2. Disadvantages of Garbage Collection
The Garbage collector scans the memory periodically to reclaim the memory that has been unused for a long time. So, this process increases the runtime overhead of the program. Sometimes garbage collector pauses the program randomly to scan the memory to reclaim the unused memory. Usually, these pauses are very short, but they are notable to the user.
A process in which memory is divided into smaller blocks due to this process sometimes it is difficult to allocate large blocks of memory. This process of fragmentation may reduce the speed or performance of the program. Moreover, sometimes garbage collection can give less control to the programmer over memory management, and this can make it difficult to optimize programs and troubleshoot the issues.
Garbage collection can increase memory usage, as the program needs to keep track of all unused memory that is allocated. The performance of real-time systems and application are reduced.ย
Sometimes garbage collection makes the program complex and difficult to understand for the user. Garbage collection is one of the most powerful tools for memory management, so every programmer of C++ needs to know about the advantages and disadvantages of the Garbage collector.
Suggested Reading:ย 10 Common Mistakes in Python Programmingย
11. Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed programming languages, C++ and its Features. In C++, we have discussed object orientation programming, simplicity, recursion, case sensitivity, and many more. After that, we came to know about the operators, structure, pointers, files, and functions of C++. At least we have discussed Garbage collection, manual management, the Advantages of Garbage collection, and the Disadvantages of Garbage Collection.
Here, we came to know that C++ is one of the most powerful languages that can be used in both the way of programming that is procedural programming and object-oriented programming. Garbage collection is a type of memory management with different from manual memory management.
Additionally, counting, marking, copying, and sweeping are algorithms for Garbage collection. The Algorithm works once the reference count becomes zero it shows that the memory is unused and can be released. These algorithms can be implemented in C++ using a specific pointer type.ย
Last Updated on by Icy Tales Team
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