keyword: Visual
C++ is simply C with some more advanced stuff, while Visual C++ is a totally different system that deals with Windows instead of just DOS, which is usually what just plain C++ is done in.
Correct me if im wrong, i just always thought of it that way

C++ is a language, there is a standard version called ANSI (American National Standards Institute) C++, which is the standard that most compilers follow.

Visual C++ is the name of Microsoft''s compiler, it uses the ANSI standard as to most other compilers (Turbo C++ from Borland, C++ Builder also Borland, and quite a few others)

The "Visual" in Visual C++ is a catch word used to say that it can handle developement for a GUI environment (using graphics and windows compared to the console style of DOS)

Don''t let this fool you, other compilers handle devlopement for windows, (Like the above Borland compilers) but there is no standard for it.

Warning, this is getting a bit ahead but, for windows there is the Win32 sdk, the names of functions and structures stay pretty much the same from compiler to compiler. But, each compiler may differ because there is no true standard (like there is for the C++ language itself) Microsoft uses MFC as its "visual" element in the language to handle semi-rad developement of windows apps. Borland uses its own set of functions and libraries.

In short Visual C++ is not a seperate language, but rather the implementation of Microsofts version of C++. (But since they support the ANSI standard, if you know ANSI C++ you can use it, and most other compilers, just not the GUI portions, just the console elements)

Hope this clears it up
-Omalacon

It should probably also be noted that C++ is much more than C. Here's what C++ has to offer:

- Object Orientated Paradigm   - Classes      - Data and operation encapsulation       - Data and operation hiding & protection (not security)   - Inheritance of base data and operations      - Multiple inheritance   - Polymorphism      - Operator and function/method overloading      - Virtual methods (RTTI)   - Parameterization      - Template functions and classes      - Orthogonal decomposition of object space paradigm   - Run Time Type Identification (although, limited)   - Exception handling   - Name spaces   - More strict type checking (prototyping, casting, etc.)   - Inline functions/methods   - Constant data types   - Referential variables   - Ability to declare variables anywhere in a scope   - Better memory management   - Better commenting 

Just a few things that came to mind... I may have missed something. So don't think of it as *just* C with a *few* extra things. Check it out!

- Jesse

P.S. Had to fix the formatting ;-)

Edited by - CodeDemon on 3/31/00 1:32:47 AM