Classes and Class Hierarchies:

C++ is a general-purpose programming language designed as an improvement to the C programming language. In short, the language is a super set of C. The most important feature of C++ is the concept of a class, which can be described as a user defined type.

The technical paper is based on the importance of classes and class hierarchies within C++. The intent of this paper is to provide you with an in-depth knowledge of the manner in which classes form the foundation of C++ programming.

Use the Internet to research the following seven (7) concepts of C++:

i. Classes

ii. Objects as instantiations of classes

iii. Abstraction

iv. Encapsulation

v. Inheritance

vi. Templates

vii. Containers

Next, consider the following advice that Bjarne Stroustrup, the creator of C++, provided to C++ programmers:

When you program, you create a concrete representation of the ideas in your solution to some problem. Let the structure of the program reflect those ideas as directly as possible:

i. If you can think of "it" as a separate idea, make it a class.

ii. If you can think of "it" as a separate entity, make it an object of some class.

iii. If two classes have a common interface, make that interface an abstract class.

iv. If the implementation of two classes has something significant in common, that commonality is a base class.

v. If a class is a container of objects, make it a template.

vi. If a function implements an algorithm for a container, make it a template function the algorithm for a family of containers.

vii. If a set of classes, templates, etc., are logically related, place them in a common namespace.

Write a five to seven (5-7) page paper in which you:

1. Explain each of the seven (7) concepts of C++, and analyze the fundamental manner in which they each relate to C++ coding of programs.
2. Provide a short code example of the use of C++ syntax within the context of an employee database.
3. Determine the manner in which each of the provided concepts relates to the concept of object-oriented programming. Justify your response.     
4. Explain each element of Bjarne Stroustrup's advice, and explore the primary manner in which each frames the object-oriented programming components into classes, objects, interfaces, templates, and containers.
5. To help you understand this assignment further, an example may be useful. For example, in researching and writing on the subject of classes you would be expected to cover the following:
   • The ways in which classes are an improvement from the concept of structures in the C programming language.
   • The manner in which classes encapsulate (i.e., enclose) functions that are members of the classes (i.e., enclosed within the class) and variables (i.e., enclosed within the class). The fact that such members represent behavior and characteristics of the class.
   • The ways in which classes restrict access to the member functions and variables through the use of access specifiers such as private, protected, and public.