C++ Programming

Introduction to C++: What It Adds Over C

iostream vs stdio, std::string vs C strings, and why C++ exists alongside C.

Variables, References, and auto

Declaring variables, C++'s reference type, and type inference with auto.

Control Flow and Function Overloading

C++'s familiar control flow, plus function overloading -- something plain C doesn't allow.

Classes, Constructors, and Destructors

Defining a class, and the automatic construction/destruction lifecycle every object gets.

Encapsulation and Access Specifiers

Controlling visibility of a class's members with public, private, and protected.

struct vs class

The one real difference between C++'s struct and class -- and how to choose between them.

RAII: Resource Acquisition Is Initialization

Why tying resource cleanup to a destructor makes cleanup automatic and impossible to forget.

Smart Pointers: unique_ptr and shared_ptr

Applying RAII to heap memory, so you never write a raw delete yourself.

References vs Pointers, and When to Use Each

Comparing C++'s two ways to indirectly access a variable, and choosing between them.

Templates: Generic Programming

Writing one function or class that works across multiple types, without duplicating code.

The STL: std::vector and <algorithm>

C++'s resizable array type, and two everyday functions from the algorithms library.

Inheritance and Virtual Functions

Deriving one class from another, and why the virtual keyword is what actually enables polymorphism.