Introduction to C++ Programming Training Course

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Summary

The C++ language provides a powerful means to write object-oriented applications that scale well over time, have a shorter development cycle, and have improved maintainability. C++ comes with a rich library called STL which helps speed development.

This C++ programming hands-on course provides a solid introduction to object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts, the C++ language, the C++ run-time and development environments and the Standard Template Library (STL). You will learn basic and advanced C++ syntax, constructs, and conventions, become familiar with the API documentation, understand C++’s implementation of the OO paradigm, and apply your newly acquired knowledge by writing a number of programs. After completing this course, you should have the ability to read, understand, and analyze most C++ code, and you should have the skills necessary to begin developing C++ programs.

Duration

5 days

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this Introduction to C++ Programming course you should:

• Understand the fundamental concepts of the Object-Oriented paradigm and their implementation in the C++ Programming language
• Understand the procedural programming support provided by C++
• Be familiar with the C++ language and its run-time and development environments
• Know how to use STL (the Standard Template Library)
• Write and maintain C++ applications
• Create, run, and debug C++ programs
• Control program flow with conditions and loops
• Effectively use declarations, assignments, operators, control structures, and program scope
• Organize C++ code into classes, header and implementation files
• Understand C++ error handling using try/catch blocks and exceptions
• Process both text and binary files
• Utilize best practices developing C++ applications

Audience

This course is ideal for Programmers/Engineers, Support Engineers, and Web Application Developers.

Pre-requisites

• Some experience programming in at least one other language such as COBOL, C, Java, or in a scripting languages such as UNIX shell, Perl, PHP, or VBScript
• A solid understanding of the basic programming concepts and constructs (variables, data types, loops and branching, and procedures/subroutines)

Outline

INTRODUCTION TO C++

• Origins of the C++ Language
• C++ and Object-Oriented Programming
• The Character of C++
• C++ Terminology
• A Sample C++ Program
• Fundamental Data Types

PROGRAMMING WITH VISUAL STUDIO AND VISUAL C++

• Writing C++ Applications
• Console Applications
• Components of the Integrated Development Environment
• Using the IDE
• Toolbar Options
• Dockable Toolbars
• Documentation
• Projects and Solutions
• Defining a Project
• Debug and Release Versions of Your Program
• Executing the Program
• Dealing with Errors
• Setting Options in Visual C++

VARIABLES, EXPRESSIONS, AND ASSIGNMENT STATEMENTS

• Identifiers
• Variables
• Assignment Statements
• Introduction to the string class
• More Assignment Statements
• Assignment Compatibility
• Literals
• Escape Sequences
• Naming Constants
• Arithmetic Operators and Expressions
• Relational and Logical Operators and Expressions
• Integer and Floating-Point Division
• Type Casting
• Increment and Decrement Operators

CONSOLE INPUT/OUTPUT

• Output Using cout
• New Lines in Output
• Formatting for Numbers with a Decimal Point
• Output with cerr
• Input Using cin

PROGRAM STYLE

• Comments
• Whitespace
• Indentation and Layout
• Braces

LIBRARIES AND NAMESPACES

• Libraries and include Directives
• Namespaces

BOOLEAN EXPRESSIONS

• Building Boolean Expressions
• Evaluating Boolean Expressions
• Precedence Rules

BRANCHING MECHANISMS

• if-else Statements
• Compound Statements
• Omitting the else
• Nested Statements
• Chained if-else Statement
• The switch Statement
• Enumeration Types
• The Conditional Operator

LOOPS

• The while and do-while Statements
• Increment and Decrement Operators Revisited
• The Comma Operator
• The for Statement
• The break and continue Statements
• Nested Loops

INTRODUCTION TO FILE INPUT

• Reading From a Text File Using ifstream

PREDEFINED FUNCTIONS

• Predefined Functions That Return a Value
• Predefined void Functions
• A Random Number Generator

PROGRAMMER-DEFINED FUNCTIONS

• Function Prototypes
• Defining Functions That Return a Value
• Alternate Form for Function Declarations
• Functions Calling Functions
• EXAMPLE: A Rounding Function
• Functions That Return a Boolean Value
• Defining void Functions
• return Statements in void Functions
• Preconditions and Postconditions
• main Is a Function
• Recursive Functions

SCOPE RULES

• Local Variables
• Procedural Abstraction
• Global Constants and Global Variables
• Blocks
• Nested Scopes
• Variables Declared in a for Loop

PARAMETERS

• Call-by-Value Parameters
• A First Look at Call-by-Reference Parameters
• Call-by-Reference Mechanism in Detail
• Constant Reference Parameters
• Mixed Parameter Lists

OVERLOADING AND DEFAULT ARGUMENTS

• Introduction to Overloading
• Rules for Resolving Overloading
• Default Arguments

TESTING AND DEBUGGING FUNCTIONS

• The assert Macro
• Stubs and Drivers

INTRODUCTION TO ARRAYS

• Declaring and Referencing Arrays
• Arrays in Memory
• Initializing Arrays

ARRAYS IN FUNCTIONS

• Indexed Variables as Function Arguments
• Entire Arrays as Function Arguments
• The const Parameter Modifier
• Functions That Return an Array

PROGRAMMING WITH ARRAYS

• Partially Filled Arrays
• EXAMPLE: Searching an Array
• EXAMPLE: Sorting an Array

MULTIDIMENSIONAL ARRAYS

• Multidimensional Array Basics
• Multidimensional Array Parameters

STRUCTURES

• Structure Types
• Structures as Function Arguments
• Initializing Structures

CLASSES

• Defining Classes and Member Functions
• Encapsulation
• Public and Private Members
• Accessor and Mutator Functions
• Structures versus Classes

CONSTRUCTORS

• Constructor Definitions
• Initializers
• Explicit Constructor Calls
• Class Type Member Variables – “Instance” Variables

MORE TOOLS

• The const Parameter Modifier
• Inline Functions
• Static Members
• Nested and Local Class Definitions

VECTORS – A PREVIEW OF STL, THE STANDARD TEMPLATE LIBRARY

• Vector Basics
• Efficiency Issues
• Passing Vectors to Functions

BASIC OPERATOR OVERLOADING

• Overloading Basics
• Returning by const Value
• Overloading Unary Operators
• Overloading as Member Functions
• Overloading Function Application ( )

FRIEND FUNCTIONS AND AUTOMATIC TYPE CONVERSION

• Constructors for Automatic Type Conversion
• Friend Functions
• Friend Classes

REFERENCES AND MORE OVERLOADED OPERATORS

• References
• Overloading >> and <<
• The Assignment Operator
• Overloading the Increment and Decrement Operators
• Overloading the Array Operator [ ]
• Overloading Based on L-Value versus R-Value

AN ARRAY TYPE FOR STRINGS

• C-String Values and C-String Variables
• Other Functions in <cstring>
• EXAMPLE: Command-Line Arguments
• C-String Input and Output

CHARACTER MANIPULATION TOOLS

• Character I/O
• The Member Functions get and put
• The putback, peek, and ignore Member Functions
• Character-Manipulating Functions

THE STANDARD CLASS string

• Introduction to the Standard Class string
• I/O with the Class string
• String Processing with the Class string
• EXAMPLE: Palindrome Testing
• Converting between string Objects and C-Strings

POINTERS

• Pointer Variables
• Address-Of and Dereference Operators
• Pointer Arithmetic
• Basic Memory Management
• Dynamic Variables and Automatic Variables
• Uses for Pointers

DYNAMIC ARRAYS

• Array Variables and Pointer Variables
• Creating and Using Dynamic Arrays
• EXAMPLE: A Function That Returns an Array
• Pointer Arithmetic
• Multidimensional Dynamic Arrays

CLASSES, POINTERS, AND DYNAMIC ARRAYS

• The -> Operator
• The this Pointer
• Overloading the Assignment Operator
• EXAMPLE: A Class for Partially Filled Arrays
• Destructors
• Copy Constructors

SEPARATE COMPILATION

• Encapsulation Reviewed
• Header Files and Implementation Files
• Using #ifndef and #pragma once

NAMESPACES

• Namespaces and using Directives
• Creating a Namespace
• Using Declarations
• Qualifying Names
• EXAMPLE: A Class Definition in a Namespace
• Unnamed Namespaces
• Nested Namespaces

I/O STREAMS

• File I/O
• Appending to a File
• Character I/O
• Checking for the End of a File

TOOLS FOR STREAM I/O

• File Names as Input
• Formatting Output with Stream Functions
• Manipulators
• Saving Flag Settings
• More Output Stream Member Functions

STREAM HIERARCHIES: A PREVIEW OF INHERITANCE

• Inheritance among Stream Classes
• EXAMPLE: Another newLine Function
• Parsing Strings with the stringstream Class

RECURSIVE void FUNCTIONS

• Tracing a Recursive Call
• A Closer Look at Recursion
• Stacks for Recursion
• Recursion versus Iteration

RECURSIVE FUNCTIONS THAT RETURN A VALUE

• General Form for a Recursive Function That Returns a Value
• EXAMPLE: Another Powers Function
• Mutual Recursion

THINKING RECURSIVELY

• Recursive Design Techniques
• Binary Search
• Coding
• Checking the Recursion
• Efficiency

INHERITANCE BASICS

• Derived Classes
• Constructors in Derived Classes
• The protected Qualifier
• Redefinition Member Functions
• Redefining versus Overloading
• Access to a Redefined Base Function
• Functions That Are Not Inherited

PROGRAMMING WITH INHERITANCE

• Assignment Operators and Copy Constructors in Derived Classes
• Destructors in Derived Classes
• EXAMPLE: Partially Filled Array with Backup
• Protected and Private Inheritance
• Multiple Inheritance

VIRTUAL FUNCTION BASICS

• Late Binding
• Virtual Function in C++
• Abstract Classes and Pure Virtual Functions

POINTERS AND VIRTUAL FUNCTIONS

• Virtual Functions and Extended Type Compatibility
• Downcasting and Upcasting
• How C++ Implements Virtual Functions

FUNCTION TEMPLATES

• Syntax for Function Templates
• EXAMPLE: A Generic Sorting Function

CLASS TEMPLATES

• Syntax for Class Templates
• EXAMPLE: An Array Template Class
• The vector and basic_string Templates

TEMPLATES AND INHERITANCE

• EXAMPLE: Template Class For a Partially Filled Array with Backup

NODES AND LINKED LISTS

• Nodes
• Linked Lists
• Inserting a Node at the Head of a List
• Inserting and Removing Nodes Inside a List
• Searching a Linked List
• Doubly Linked Lists
• Adding a Node to a Doubly Linked List
• Deleting a Node from a Doubly Linked List

LINKED LIST APPLICATIONS

• EXAMPLE: A Stack Template Class
• EXAMPLE: A Queue Template Class
• Friend Classes and Similar Alternatives
• EXAMPLE: Hash Tables With Chaining
• Efficiency of Hash Tables
• EXAMPLE: A Set Template Class
• Efficiency of Sets Using Linked Lists

ITERATORS

• Pointers as Iterators
• Iterator Classes
• EXAMPLE: An Iterator Class

TREES

• Tree Properties
• EXAMPLE: A Tree Template Class

EXCEPTION HANDLING BASICS

• A Toy Example of Exception Handling
• Defining Your Own Exception Classes
• Multiple Throws and Catches
• Throwing an Exception in a Function
• Exception Specification

PROGRAMMING TECHNIQUES FOR EXCEPTION HANDLING

• When to Throw an Exception
• Exception Class Hierarchies
• Testing for Available Memory
• Rethrowing an Exception

ITERATORS

• Iterator Basics
• Kinds of Iterators
• Constant and Mutable Iterators
• Reverse Iterators
• Other Kinds of Iterators

STL CONTAINERS

• Sequential Containers – Stack, List, Queue, Deque
• The Container Adapters stack and queue
• The Associative Containers set and map
• Efficiency

STL GENERIC ALGORITHMS

• Running Times and Big-O Notation
• Container Access Running Times
• Nonmodifying Sequence Algorithms
• Modifying Sequence Algorithms
• Set Algorithms
• Sorting Algorithms

Instructor

Bary W Pollack

Bary W Pollack has decades of experience teaching C/C++ (and C# and Java). He was teaching at the University of California at Berkeley in 1972 when the first UNIX system was installed at which time he led the change of introductory programming language from FORTRAN to C. In 1979 he was teaching at the University of British Columbia and he led the change from using C to using C++ as the introductory programming language. Over the past several decades teaching at on ground universities, online universities, and in vocational settings Bary has earned a reputation as an passionate and dedicated instructor who has the ability to make complex concepts crystal clear to students having all levels of experience. Bary’s courses invariably are memorable, educational, and enjoyable.