Search icon CANCEL
Subscription
0
Cart icon
Your Cart (0 item)
Close icon
You have no products in your basket yet
Arrow left icon
Explore Products
Best Sellers
New Releases
Books
Videos
Audiobooks
Learning Hub
Free Learning
Arrow right icon
Beginning C++ Programming
Beginning C++ Programming

Beginning C++ Programming: Modern C++ at your fingertips!

eBook
€22.99 €32.99
Paperback
€41.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at €18.99p/m

What do you get with a Packt Subscription?

Free for first 7 days. $19.99 p/m after that. Cancel any time!
Product feature icon Unlimited ad-free access to the largest independent learning library in tech. Access this title and thousands more!
Product feature icon 50+ new titles added per month, including many first-to-market concepts and exclusive early access to books as they are being written.
Product feature icon Innovative learning tools, including AI book assistants, code context explainers, and text-to-speech.
Product feature icon Thousands of reference materials covering every tech concept you need to stay up to date.
Subscribe now
View plans & pricing
Table of content icon View table of contents Preview book icon Preview Book

Beginning C++ Programming

Understanding Language Features

In the previous chapter, you installed a C++ compiler and developed a simple application. You also explored the basic structure of C++ projects and how to manage them. In this chapter, you will dive deeper into language, and learn the various language features to control flow in your code.

Writing C++

C++ is a very flexible language when it comes to formatting and writing code. It is also a strongly typed language, meaning there are rules about declaring the types of variables, which you can use to your advantage by making the compiler help you write better code. In this section, we will cover how to format C++ code and rules on declaring and scoping variables.

Using white space

Other than string literals, you have free usage of white space (spaces, tabs, newlines), and are able to use as much or as little as you like. C++ statements are delimited by semicolons, so in the following code there are three statements, which will compile and run:

    int i = 4; 
i = i / 2;
std::cout << "The result...

Using operators

Operators are used to compute a value from one or more operands. The following table groups all of the operators with equal precedence and lists their associativity. The higher in the table, the higher precedence of execution the operator has in an expression. If you have several operators in an expression, the compiler will perform the higher--precedence operators before the lower--precedence operators. If an expression contains operators of equal precedence, then the compiler will use the associativity to decide whether an operand is grouped with the operator to its left or right.

There are some ambiguities in this table. A pair of parentheses can mean a function call or a cast and in the table these are listed as function() and cast(); in your code you will simply use (). The + and - symbols are either used to indicate sign (unary plus and unary minus, given...

Controlling execution flow

C++ provides many ways to test values and loop through code.

Using conditional statements

The most frequently used conditional statement is if. In its simplest form, the if statement takes a logical expression in a pair of parentheses and is immediately followed by the statement that is executed if the condition is true:

    int i; 
std::cin >> i;
if (i > 10) std::cout << "much too high!" << std::endl;

You can also use the else statement to catch occasions when the condition is false:

    int i; 
std::cin >> i;
if (i > 10) std::cout << "much too high!" << std::endl;
else std::cout << "within range&quot...

Using C++ language features

Let's now use the features you have learned in this chapter to write an application. This example is a simple command-line calculator; you type an expression such as 6 * 7, and the application parses the input and performs the calculation.

Start Visual C++ and click the File menu, and then New, and finally, click on the File... option to get the New File dialog. In the left-hand pane, click on Visual C++, and in the middle pane, click on C++ File (.cpp), and then click on the Open button. Before you do anything else, save this file. Using a Visual C++ console (a command line, which has the Visual C++ environment), navigate to the Beginning_C++ folder you created in the previous chapter and create a new folder called Chapter_02. Now, in Visual C++, on the File menu, click Save Source1.cpp As... and in the Save File As dialog locate the Chapter_02...

Summary

In this chapter, you have learned how to format your code, and how to identify expressions and statements. You have learned how to identify the scope of variables, and how to group collections of functions and variables into namespaces so that you can prevent name clashes. You have also learned the basic plumbing in C++ of looping and branching code, and how the built-in operators work. Finally, you put all of this together in a simple application that allows you to perform simple calculations at the command line.

In the following chapter, you will learn about C++ types and how to convert values from one type to another.

Left arrow icon Right arrow icon
Download code icon Download Code

Key benefits

  • This book gets you started with the exciting world of C++ programming
  • It will enable you to write C++ code that uses the standard library, has a level of object orientation, and uses memory in a safe and effective way
  • It forms the basis of programming and covers concepts such as data structures and the core programming language

Description

C++ has come a long way and is now adopted in several contexts. Its key strengths are its software infrastructure and resource-constrained applications, including desktop applications, servers, and performance-critical applications, not to forget its importance in game programming. Despite its strengths in these areas, beginners usually tend to shy away from learning the language because of its steep learning curve. The main mission of this book is to make you familiar and comfortable with C++. You will finish the book not only being able to write your own code, but more importantly, you will be able to read other projects. It is only by being able to read others' code that you will progress from a beginner to an advanced programmer. This book is the first step in that progression. The first task is to familiarize you with the structure of C++ projects so you will know how to start reading a project. Next, you will be able to identify the main structures in the language, functions, and classes, and feel confident being able to identify the execution flow through the code. You will then become aware of the facilities of the standard library and be able to determine whether you need to write a routine yourself, or use an existing routine in the standard library. Throughout the book, there is a big emphasis on memory and pointers. You will understand memory usage, allocation, and access, and be able to write code that does not leak memory. Finally, you will learn about C++ classes and get an introduction to object orientation and polymorphism.

Who is this book for?

A computer, an internet connection, and the desire to learn how to code in C++ is all you need to get started with this book.

What you will learn

  • Get familiar with the structure of C++ projects
  • Identify the main structures in the language: functions and classes
  • Feel confident about being able to identify the execution flow through the code
  • Be aware of the facilities of the standard library
  • Gain insights into the basic concepts of object orientation
  • Know how to debug your programs
  • Get acquainted with the standard C++ library

Product Details

Country selected
Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Apr 24, 2017
Length: 526 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781787124943
Vendor :
Microsoft
Category :
Languages :
Tools :

What do you get with a Packt Subscription?

Free for first 7 days. $19.99 p/m after that. Cancel any time!
Product feature icon Unlimited ad-free access to the largest independent learning library in tech. Access this title and thousands more!
Product feature icon 50+ new titles added per month, including many first-to-market concepts and exclusive early access to books as they are being written.
Product feature icon Innovative learning tools, including AI book assistants, code context explainers, and text-to-speech.
Product feature icon Thousands of reference materials covering every tech concept you need to stay up to date.
Subscribe now
View plans & pricing

Product Details

Publication date : Apr 24, 2017
Length: 526 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781787124943
Vendor :
Microsoft
Category :
Languages :
Tools :

Packt Subscriptions

See our plans and pricing
Modal Close icon
€18.99 billed monthly
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Simple pricing, no contract
€189.99 billed annually
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just €5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts
€264.99 billed in 18 months
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just €5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts

Frequently bought together


Stars icon
Total 120.97
Mastering C++ Multithreading
€36.99
Modern C++ Programming Cookbook
€41.99
Beginning C++ Programming
€41.99
Total 120.97 Stars icon
Banner background image

Table of Contents

10 Chapters
Starting with C++ Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Understanding Language Features Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Exploring C++ Types Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Working with Memory, Arrays, and Pointers Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Using Functions Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Classes Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Introduction to Object-Orientated Programming Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Using the Standard Library Containers Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Using Strings Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Diagnostics and Debugging Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Top Reviews
Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.3
(8 Ratings)
5 star 37.5%
4 star 12.5%
3 star 12.5%
2 star 12.5%
1 star 25%
Filter icon Filter
Top Reviews

Filter reviews by




Marie Beckman Dec 07, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Bought as a gift for my son who is attending collage studying this subject,
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Ernest C. Liedtke Nov 10, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Excellent book.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Landon D. Nov 01, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This book was a welcome change from the normal programming tutorial books. This one actually starts off with having you use makefile project instead of just the normal console type "Hello World" program that you would typically see. I'm learning a lot from this book and look forward to more from this author.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Pietro Neri Jun 14, 2022
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
Eventually clear, but very demanding exposition. No progress without complete mastery of every preceding line, paragraph and chapter. In many instances, C++ at its worst: technical virtuosism only devised to spare a few byte of memory allocation and some lines of code, at the cost of silly, unnecessary complications. To top it all, as additional burdens, final example code of some chapters (see ch. 5 and 7) doesn't run without a painstaking rewriting by the reader. This notwithstanding, the amount of informations is really remarkable, and I would recommend this purchase were it not that the price is a bit excessive.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Michael Eccles Dec 14, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
Liked the comprehensive coverage of the C++ language, but became frustrated with the frequent typos and missing or confusing messages about using the information. I would not recommend this book for inexperienced software writers.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Get free access to Packt library with over 7500+ books and video courses for 7 days!
Start Free Trial

FAQs

What is included in a Packt subscription? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

A subscription provides you with full access to view all Packt and licnesed content online, this includes exclusive access to Early Access titles. Depending on the tier chosen you can also earn credits and discounts to use for owning content

How can I cancel my subscription? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

To cancel your subscription with us simply go to the account page - found in the top right of the page or at https://subscription.packtpub.com/my-account/subscription - From here you will see the ‘cancel subscription’ button in the grey box with your subscription information in.

What are credits? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Credits can be earned from reading 40 section of any title within the payment cycle - a month starting from the day of subscription payment. You also earn a Credit every month if you subscribe to our annual or 18 month plans. Credits can be used to buy books DRM free, the same way that you would pay for a book. Your credits can be found in the subscription homepage - subscription.packtpub.com - clicking on ‘the my’ library dropdown and selecting ‘credits’.

What happens if an Early Access Course is cancelled? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Projects are rarely cancelled, but sometimes it's unavoidable. If an Early Access course is cancelled or excessively delayed, you can exchange your purchase for another course. For further details, please contact us here.

Where can I send feedback about an Early Access title? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

If you have any feedback about the product you're reading, or Early Access in general, then please fill out a contact form here and we'll make sure the feedback gets to the right team. 

Can I download the code files for Early Access titles? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

We try to ensure that all books in Early Access have code available to use, download, and fork on GitHub. This helps us be more agile in the development of the book, and helps keep the often changing code base of new versions and new technologies as up to date as possible. Unfortunately, however, there will be rare cases when it is not possible for us to have downloadable code samples available until publication.

When we publish the book, the code files will also be available to download from the Packt website.

How accurate is the publication date? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The publication date is as accurate as we can be at any point in the project. Unfortunately, delays can happen. Often those delays are out of our control, such as changes to the technology code base or delays in the tech release. We do our best to give you an accurate estimate of the publication date at any given time, and as more chapters are delivered, the more accurate the delivery date will become.

How will I know when new chapters are ready? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

We'll let you know every time there has been an update to a course that you've bought in Early Access. You'll get an email to let you know there has been a new chapter, or a change to a previous chapter. The new chapters are automatically added to your account, so you can also check back there any time you're ready and download or read them online.

I am a Packt subscriber, do I get Early Access? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Yes, all Early Access content is fully available through your subscription. You will need to have a paid for or active trial subscription in order to access all titles.

How is Early Access delivered? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Early Access is currently only available as a PDF or through our online reader. As we make changes or add new chapters, the files in your Packt account will be updated so you can download them again or view them online immediately.

How do I buy Early Access content? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Early Access is a way of us getting our content to you quicker, but the method of buying the Early Access course is still the same. Just find the course you want to buy, go through the check-out steps, and you’ll get a confirmation email from us with information and a link to the relevant Early Access courses.

What is Early Access? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Keeping up to date with the latest technology is difficult; new versions, new frameworks, new techniques. This feature gives you a head-start to our content, as it's being created. With Early Access you'll receive each chapter as it's written, and get regular updates throughout the product's development, as well as the final course as soon as it's ready.We created Early Access as a means of giving you the information you need, as soon as it's available. As we go through the process of developing a course, 99% of it can be ready but we can't publish until that last 1% falls in to place. Early Access helps to unlock the potential of our content early, to help you start your learning when you need it most. You not only get access to every chapter as it's delivered, edited, and updated, but you'll also get the finalized, DRM-free product to download in any format you want when it's published. As a member of Packt, you'll also be eligible for our exclusive offers, including a free course every day, and discounts on new and popular titles.