Hands-On Object-Oriented Design & Programming using C++

Introduction

Although C++ is highly flexible and efficient, it is also a large and complex language. This hands-on course is the first of two courses on C++. It tries to clarify and prioritise the language from the perspective of teaching good, introductory, object-oriented programming in C++. Its follow-up course Advanced C++ (C++ Traps and Pitfalls) goes into much more detail and has a particular focus on safe and correct C++.

Duration

The course lasts three days. (The follow-up course, mentioned above, lasts four days, and we recommend that a practice period of three or four weeks is kept between the two courses.)

Each day will start at 09.00 and finish at 16.30. The course is based on a cycle of theory-language-practice-review, with two or three cycles each day. One non-trivial, practical case-study is developed during the course.

Intended Audience

The course is not a first-language course. It is aimed at software engineers who already know a high-level language such as Ada, Pascal or Modula-2. Knowledge of C is by no means essential. Participants who know C usually find the syntax easier to cope with but often find it difficult to make the transition to fully object-oriented designs. Although the course does consider the design of good object-oriented programs, participants will, ideally, have attended the Object-Oriented Design using UML or Object-Oriented Analysis and Design course.

Aims

To become familiar with the nature of objects and object-orientation
To appreciate what differentiates a good object-oriented program from a bad one (and what constitutes good and bad)
To become familiar with the important features of object-oriented C++
To have had several hours practice at C++ programming
To be ready to tackle the safety issues in production-quality C++

Numbers

We recommend that there are no more than 10 participants, each working at his or her own machine.

Deliverables

Lectures
Facilitation of discussions
Direction, assistance and feedback on exercises
Proposed solutions to the exercises
Copies of lecture slides, plus explanatory text and summaries
Reference list of books and sources

Revision of, or introduction to, objects and object-orientation
C++ source code organization and conventions
Operators and expressions in C++
The built-in types of C++
Classes
Decisions and loops in C++
Implementation and composition
The type system and abstract classes
Inheritance of implementation and abstract classes
Static members
Introduction to standard containers and iterators

Site Requirements

One PC with Visual C++ (version 6 or .NET), per participant (including one for the lecturer), preferably networked and with a printer
Data projector of at least 1024 x 768 resolution, and suitable screen
White-board, preferably not doubling up as the projector's screen; blackboard and chalk are acceptable
Flip-chart and easel, with additional flip-chart paper

Contacting

Please contact Matrice by telephone on +44 7010 704705; by fax on +44 7010 704706; by emailing bookings@matrice.co.uk; or by visiting http://www.matrice.co.uk