C++ Course Beginners

The course covers a selection of the following topics:

• Basic types, expressions and operators
• Variables, scopes and lifetimes
• Control structures and functions
• Pointers, arrays, references, and constants
• Strings, vectors, iterators, and the STL
• Smart pointers and ownership
• Classes, constructors, and destructors
• Object-oriented programming and inheritance

The basic C++ course is aimed at participants who have basic knowledge of programming. Therefore, you should already be familiar with concepts such as if-statements, loops, or functions. However, it is not necessary to have prior knowledge of C or C++. If you can write simple programs in a language like Python, Java, Matlab, or R, you have all the prerequisites for this course. Even if you have gained initial experience with C++ but still do not feel confident with the language, this course is the right one for you.

This basic C++ course teaches you programming with C++ in a simple and structured way. Unlike our other basic courses, which require no prior knowledge, the C++ basic course is aimed at participants who already have basic knowledge in another programming language and those who have had some initial experience with C++ but want to build a solid foundation.

You will learn how C++ works, how to use the basic language elements, and how to write C++ programs. We deal with built-in data types and control structures such as if and for. You will learn how to write your own functions and classes. We discuss how to write C++ programs with multiple classes and how to organize your code into various header and implementation files. Of course, you also get an overview of the powerful standard library of C++ and get to know the most important data structures, like vector and string.

We start off very relaxed with an introduction to C++ and the creation of programs: What does a C++ program look like? What are header and implementation files? How can I write, compile, and run a C++ program? What development environment is available for this and how can I even install C++?

Then we deal with the basic types, variables, and operators that exist in C++. Through many examples and small tasks, you will learn how to control the flow of control in C++ with conditions and loops and how to write functions. Afterwards, we deal with complex data types such as arrays and structs, as well as with C++ specific features like references and pointers. You will learn how to deal with the standard containers vector and string and you will see how you can simplify many tasks with them.

Next, we turn to an important concept in C++: The management of resources, such as memory or files. We get to know the RAII principle and see how we can manage memory with unique_ptr and shared_ptr. You will see how you can respond to errors with exceptions, how RAII and exceptions work together, and what alternative approaches there are to error handling.

In conclusion, we deal with classes and objects. You will learn how to write classes and create objects. We discuss how you can implement constructors and destructors and how to deal with copy constructors and assignment operators. You will learn how to use inheritance and polymorphism and write object-oriented programs.

Of course, as a participant in the C++ course for beginners and programmers, you will receive a certificate. The prerequisite for this is full participation in all course units and programming tasks.

If you would like to further deepen your C++ knowledge gained in this course, we recommend the C++ advanced course for programmers. There, after a compact repetition of the topics from this course, you will learn more about object-oriented programming, exception handling, structuring large projects, and many other topics.

If you are interested in how to write "good" software - that is, software that is easy to maintain and extend, and where you can rely on it to work as it should - our courses: C++ Clean Code and Test, as well as C++ Clean Software Architecture, are the right courses for you. In these courses, you will learn various techniques to improve the quality of your software.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming you to this and future courses at the Coding Academy!

3-day on-site course

The course takes place in our modern and top-equipped training rooms. We provide each participant with a modern laptop during the training. Drinks are provided by the Coding Academy. Access to the material will be provided at the latest on the first day of the course

3-day online course
The course takes place online. You only need a computer with Internet access; however, for some courses it is necessary to install the software used; this is specified in the description of the respective course. Access to the material will be provided at the latest on the first day of the course.

4-week program

A new and innovative learning concept. More information about the 4 weeks program can be found here.