What's the Key Difference Between C Structs and Classes?

C/C Struct vs Class: A Deeper Dive

In the realm of programming, structs and classes have often been compared and contrasted, with debates concerning their similarities and differences. While C programmers often perceive them as virtually identical with minor variations, a closer examination reveals distinct characteristics and use cases between the two.

In C, structs serve as basic data structures that aggregate data into a cohesive unit. They hold public data members by default, but lack class-related features like methods, constructors, or base classes.

In contrast, C introduced a more object-oriented approach, where structs and classes become powerful building blocks for encapsulation, abstraction, and inheritance. Key differences emerge here:

1. Access Modifiers: While structs inherit C's public default, classes adhere to the private default. This distinction determines the accessibility of members to external code, reinforcing encapsulation within classes.
2. Object Functionality: Classes possess methods, accessor functions, and other object-oriented features that enable complex operations and behaviors. Structs, on the other hand, are primarily limited to data storage.
3. Inheritance: Classes support inheritance hierarchies, allowing derived classes to inherit and extend the functionality of base classes. Structs lack this feature, making them unsuitable for creating complex inheritance relationships.

From a language evolution perspective, the introduction of C classes expanded upon the concept of C structs by adding features essential for object-oriented programming. While C's structs remain useful for basic data organization, C classes provide a more robust and versatile mechanism for modeling real-world objects and their interactions.

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