Introduction to C and C++

Syllabus and Software

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week for 4 weeks, 1 hour / session

Labs: 2 sessions / week for 4 weeks, 1 hour / session

Course Description

This course provides a fast-paced introduction to the C and C++ programming languages. You will learn the required background knowledge, including memory management, pointers, preprocessor macros, object-oriented programming, and how to find bugs when you inevitably use any of those incorrectly. There will be daily assignments and a small-scale individual project.

Software

Standard Environment

It’s most efficient for the staff if everyone uses the same environment:

• Athena command-line
• Compiling: gcc, g++
• Debugging: gdb, valgrind
• Editing: nano, pico, vim, or emacs

You can mimic that environment on your own computer:

• Windows: All the necessary packages (except valgrind) are available in cygwin (gcc-core, gcc-g++, gdb).
• OS X: Install Xcode from the App Store, open it, go to Preferences > Downloads > Components and download “Command Line Tools”.
• Linux: sudo apt-get install build-essential or equivalent.

IDEs

If you’d like to use a GUI instead (and there are many good reasons to do so), we’ll try to help you out, but:

• Your programs still need to work in the standard environment, so you should test them there.
• One of our primary debugging tools (valgrind) may not be available in your IDE.

Nevertheless, these IDEs seem to work well:

• Code::Blocks (Windows, Linux, OS X)
• Eclipse (Windows, Linux, OS X)
• Visual Studio (Windows)
• Xcode (OS X)