C++ is an object-oriented programming language developed as an extension of C. While C follows a procedural programming approach, C++ supports Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) concepts such as classes, objects, inheritance, polymorphism, encapsulation, and abstraction, making it suitable for developing scalable and reusable software applications.

The four main OOP principles are:

• Encapsulation – Combining data and methods into a single class.
• Abstraction – Hiding implementation details while exposing essential features.
• Inheritance – Allowing one class to inherit properties and methods from another.
• Polymorphism – Allowing the same function to behave differently in different situations.

A class is a blueprint or template used to create objects, whereas an object is an instance of a class that contains actual data and can access the class's methods.

A constructor is automatically called when an object is created and initializes the object. A destructor is automatically called when the object is destroyed and is used to release allocated resources or perform cleanup tasks.

Function overloading allows multiple functions to have the same name but different parameter lists. The compiler selects the appropriate function based on the number or type of arguments passed.

Inheritance allows one class (derived class) to inherit properties and methods from another class (base class). It promotes code reusability, reduces redundancy, and makes programs easier to maintain.

The Standard Template Library (STL) is a collection of reusable C++ template classes and functions that provide commonly used data structures and algorithms, such as:

• Vector
• List
• Queue
• Stack
• Map
• Set
• Sort
• Search

STL helps developers write efficient and optimized code.

The new operator dynamically allocates memory during program execution, while the delete operator releases the allocated memory to prevent memory leaks.