The key differences between **C** and **C++** stem from their design goals,

programming paradigms, and features. While both languages share common roots and
have similarities, they are fundamentally different in several ways:

### 1. **Programming Paradigm**

- **C:** C is a **procedural programming language**. It focuses on writing
functions to perform tasks and follows a top-down approach, where the program is
divided into a set of procedures or functions.
- **C++:** C++ is a **multi-paradigm language**, supporting both **procedural**
and **object-oriented programming (OOP)**. It introduces concepts like classes and
objects, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.

### 2. **Object-Oriented Programming**

- **C:** C does not support object-oriented programming. It relies entirely on
functions and structures (which cannot contain functions) to organize code.
- **C++:** C++ supports full **object-oriented programming**. It allows you to
define classes that encapsulate both data (attributes) and functions (methods) that
operate on the data. C++ also provides OOP features like inheritance, polymorphism,
abstraction, and encapsulation.

### 3. **Standard Libraries**

- **C:** The C Standard Library provides a set of functions for handling
input/output, string manipulation, memory management, and math functions, but is
relatively limited in scope.
- **C++:** C++ has a more extensive **Standard Template Library (STL)**, which
includes useful templates for data structures like vectors, lists, maps, and
algorithms. STL makes it easier to implement complex data handling and algorithms
compared to C.

### 4. **Memory Management**

- **C:** Memory management in C is done manually using functions like
`malloc()`, `calloc()`, and `free()`. The programmer must carefully manage the
allocation and deallocation of memory.
- **C++:** C++ offers both manual and automatic memory management. While you can
use `new` and `delete` for dynamic memory allocation, C++ also supports
**constructors** and **destructors** that handle initialization and cleanup of
objects automatically, reducing the risk of memory leaks.

### 5. **Functions**
- **C:** In C, functions can only return a single value (apart from using
pointers to return multiple values) and do not support function overloading
(multiple functions with the same name but different parameters).
- **C++:** C++ supports **function overloading**, where multiple functions can
have the same name but different signatures (parameter types or numbers). This
makes functions more flexible.

### 6. **Data Security and Encapsulation**

- **C:** C uses structures (`struct`), but they can only hold data. There is no
way to encapsulate data with the functions that operate on it, so data security is
lower.
- **C++:** C++ allows **data encapsulation** through classes. Access specifiers
like `private`, `public`, and `protected` are available, enabling control over how
data is accessed and modified. This provides better security and abstraction.

### 7. **Inline Functions**

- **C:** C supports macros (`#define`), but macros are prone to errors as they
are not type-checked and can lead to unexpected results during code substitution.
- **C++:** C++ supports **inline functions**, which are safer than macros. They
allow the compiler to insert the function’s code directly at the call site,
providing better performance without the drawbacks of macros.

### 8. **Exception Handling**

- **C:** C does not have built-in support for **exception handling**. Error
handling in C is typically done using return codes and `errno`.
- **C++:** C++ provides a structured mechanism for **exception handling**
through `try`, `catch`, and `throw` blocks. This allows for better error handling
and improves program reliability.

### 9. **Namespace Support**

- **C:** C does not have support for namespaces, so naming conflicts can occur
when different parts of a large program use the same variable or function names.
- **C++:** C++ introduces **namespaces**, allowing developers to organize code
and avoid name collisions, especially in large projects.

### 10. **Compatibility**

- **C:** C is the simpler of the two languages, and code written in C can
generally be compiled using a C++ compiler (C++ is often called a "superset" of C).
- **C++:** While C++ can run most C code, C++ has more complex features that are
not available in C. C++ also supports some additional syntax and features that make
it incompatible with C compilers.

### 11. **Use Cases**

- **C:** C is often used for **low-level programming**, such as operating
systems, embedded systems, and hardware drivers, where efficiency and control over
memory and hardware are crucial.
- **C++:** C++ is used for both **system-level programming** and higher-level
**application development**, including game development, GUI applications, and
large-scale software systems. C++ provides more abstraction and supports complex
system design due to its OOP features.

### Summary of Key Differences:

| Feature | C | C++
|
|----------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------
--------------|
| Paradigm | Procedural | Multi-paradigm
(Procedural + OOP) |
| Object-Oriented Support | No | Yes
|
| Standard Libraries | Basic (C Standard Library) | Extensive (STL)
|
| Memory Management | Manual | Manual + Automatic
|
| Function Overloading | No | Yes
|
| Encapsulation | No | Yes (through
classes) |
| Exception Handling | No | Yes
|
| Namespaces | No | Yes
|
| Use Cases | Low-level, hardware-related | High-level,
application-level |

Both C and C++ are powerful languages, but C++ offers more abstraction and advanced
features for large, complex applications, while C is simpler and more focused on
low-level programming.