C remains the darling of embedded programmers, but C++ garners a sizable chunk. Using C++ features judiciously can result in code that’s as efficient or more efficient than a comparable C application.

Ask most embedded developers why they're still writing firmware in C, and you'll hear the same answer: "C++ is too heavy for embedded." That concern has merit. It's also more than 20 years out of date ...

Targeting the NEC 8-bit microcontroller, the IAR Embedded Workbench for 78K integrates C/C++ with advanced support like Embedded C++, which includes templates and the Standard Template Library (STL).