Learn C++

Discover what C++ is, where it's used, why it matters, and how it compares to other languages — plus your first working C++ program.

Install GCC/G++, configure VS Code, write your first program, and understand the compile-and-run workflow on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Understand C++ program structure — preprocessor directives, namespaces, the main function, comments, semicolons, and the compilation pipeline.

Master C++ built-in types — integers, floats, characters, booleans, auto, const, type casting, overflow, and how C++ stores data in memory.

Master C++ operators — arithmetic, relational, logical, bitwise, assignment, ternary — and understand operator precedence and associativity.

Master C++ I/O — cin, cout, cerr, getline, formatted output with iomanip, file streams, and printf vs cout comparison.

Work with C++ strings — std::string methods, concatenation, searching, substring, conversion, string_view, raw string literals, and C-string interop.

Make decisions in C++ with if, else if, else, nested conditions, logical operators, constexpr if, and C++17 if-with-initialiser.

Master C++ switch statements — cases, break, default, fall-through, enum switches, C++17 switch initialiser, and when to prefer switch over if-else chains.

Master C++ for loops — traditional for, range-based for (C++11), nested loops, break, continue, and loop optimisation patterns.

Master C++ while and do-while loops — event-driven repetition, input validation loops, infinite loops, loop invariants, and choosing between loop types.

Write reusable C++ functions — declaration vs definition, parameters, return values, pass by value vs reference, default parameters, inline functions, and lambdas.

Understand C++ function overloading — defining multiple functions with the same name, overload resolution rules, and operator overloading basics.

Master recursion in C++ — base cases, call stacks, classic recursive algorithms, tail recursion, memoisation, and when to prefer iteration.

Master C++ classes — member variables, member functions, access specifiers, the this pointer, static members, and object-oriented design fundamentals.

Master C++ constructors and destructors — default, parameterised, copy, and move constructors, initialiser lists, the Rule of Five, and RAII.

Master C++ inheritance — base and derived classes, access control, virtual functions, abstract classes, multiple inheritance, and the Liskov Substitution Principle.

Master C++ polymorphism — compile-time (overloading, templates) vs runtime (virtual functions, vtable), pure virtual interfaces, dynamic_cast, and the visitor pattern.

Overload C++ operators for custom types — arithmetic, comparison, stream insertion/extraction, subscript, function call, and conversion operators.

Master C++ pointers and references — declaration, dereferencing, pointer arithmetic, nullptr, references vs pointers, void pointers, and function pointers.

Understand C++ dynamic memory — new/delete, heap vs stack, memory leaks, RAII, detecting leaks with Valgrind, and the dangers of raw pointer ownership.

Master C++ smart pointers — unique_ptr, shared_ptr, weak_ptr — automatic memory management, make_unique/make_shared, ownership semantics, and the Rule of Zero.

Master C++11 move semantics — lvalue vs rvalue, move constructor, move assignment, std::move, perfect forwarding, and eliminating unnecessary copies.

Master C++ sequence containers — C arrays, std::array, std::vector, deque, capacity management, 2D vectors, and choosing the right container.

Master C++ associative containers — map, unordered_map, set, unordered_set, multimap, multiset — operations, iteration, and choosing the right container.

Master C++ STL algorithms — sort, find, transform, accumulate, count_if, remove_if, partition, and composing algorithms with lambdas and ranges.

Master C++ iterators — categories, begin/end, reverse iterators, insert iterators, iterator arithmetic, range-based algorithms, and writing a custom iterator.

Master C++ templates — function templates, class templates, template specialisation, variadic templates, SFINAE, and C++20 concepts.

Master C++ exception handling — try/catch/throw, the exception hierarchy, custom exceptions, noexcept, RAII with exceptions, and error handling strategies.

Master C++ file I/O — ifstream, ofstream, fstream, text vs binary files, seekg/seekp, error handling, C++17 filesystem, and practical file processing patterns.

Master C++ multithreading — std::thread, mutex, lock_guard, condition_variable, atomic, async/future, thread pool pattern, and avoiding data races.