Course Description

Ever hang your head in shame after your Python program wasn't as fast as your friend's C program? Ever wish you could use objects without having to use Java? Join us for this fun introduction to C and C++! We will take you through a tour that will start with writing simple C programs, go deep into the caves of C memory …

Ever hang your head in shame after your Python program wasn’t as fast as your friend’s C program? Ever wish you could use objects without having to use Java? Join us for this fun introduction to C and C++! We will take you through a tour that will start with writing simple C programs, go deep into the caves of C memory manipulation, resurface with an introduction to using C++ classes, dive deeper into advanced C++ class use and the C++ Standard Template Libraries. We’ll wrap up by teaching you some tricks of the trade that you may need for tech interviews.

We see this as a “C/C++ empowerment” course: we want you to come away understanding

  1. why you would want to use C over another language (control over memory, probably for performance reasons),
  2. why you would want to use C++ rather than C (objects), and
  3. how to be useful in C and C++.

This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.

Learning Resource Types
Lecture Notes
Programming Assignments
Photograph of a cookie cutter and cookie dough.
Lecture 4 discusses object-oriented programming in C++: a class is like a cookie cutter, and objects are like cookies. (Photograph courtesy of Guillaume Brialon on Flickr.)