A: The answer to this question can be found in "C++ FAQs" page 68 (see the list of great books).

A C++ class is better than a C-structure because it "is alive and intelligent.Take away all the member functions from a class,make everything public:, eliminate inheritance,and remove all the static member data and functions; the result is a traditional C-style struct.A C-style struct supports multiple instancies,but it is difficult to encapsulate its implementations properly.Classes support both multiple instances and encapsulation.When a C-style struct dreams about growing up, it dreams of being a class."