When to Use C over C++ and C++ over C

Both C and C++ are powerful programming languages that are used by developers to write both system-level and high-level programs. C language follows procedural programming paradigm with a simple and structured approach, whereas C++ supports both procedural and object-oriented programming.

Although both C and C++ are widely used across various fields for developing different types of system and application software but they have different strength and use cases. In this article, we will learn when to use C over C++, and when C++ is a better choice than C.

When to use C Language?

• When you want to write programs for low-level system software like operating systems, embedded systems, or device drivers, C is the go-to language because it allows control over memory and hardware with minimal abstraction.
• C has less runtime and better performance because it doesn't have built-in object-oriented features like classes, inheritance, or polymorphism. So it will be good for projects that require simple and straightforward procedural programming.
• C's syntax and memory model are better for writing functions that interact directly with assembly or hardware registers.
• C is useful when developing software that needs to be highly portable across different platforms and architectures.

Use C over C++, when you need maximum control over hardware and memory with minimal overhead, especially for low-level system programming like operating systems, embedded systems, or device drivers.

C is ideal for projects, which require simple, procedural code without the complexity and where require good portability and performance.

When to use C++ Language?

• When working with large-scale complex software projects, you require extra extended features of object-oriented tools too, which helps structuring large codebases with manageable classes and modules like Game engines and GUI applications etc.
• Useful for modern application development where required features like RAII (Resource Acquisition Is Initialization), smart pointers, and exceptions, it makes memory management safer and prevents s.
• C++ is also good for competitive programming as it provides speed with added features of Standard Template Library (STL) like classes, templates, lambda functions, etc.
• Database Systems like MySQL and MongoDB use C++ for performance and complex data handling.

Use C++ over C, when working with large-scale complex software projects as it provides better code organization and reusability. Its object-oriented features such as classes, inheritance, and polymorphism make it easier to manage complex software systems. C++ is good for applications which require real-time simulations such as games, GUI, desktop software etc.