Accelerated C++:
A Short Course in Practical Programming by Example
 
August 2009 Announcement and Syllabus

General Information

• The next offering begins Thursday, August 6, 2009.
• The Short Course consists of eight sessions totalling circa 22 hours.
• No tuition is charged; however, each attendee must obtain legal copies of the required textbooks.
• Once your supervisor approves, you may register online for this Short Course beginning Monday, July 6, 2009.
• Any questions? Special circumstances? Registration difficulty? Just .
• The current version of this Announcement and Syllabus is available at http://home.fnal.gov/~wb/AcceleratedCpp.html.

Objectives

• To learn quickly how to write useful programs in modern standard C++.
• To focus on solving problems by using standard abstractions from:
  • The C++ standard library, and
  • The core C++ language.
• To improve skills in defining your own abstractions via such techniques as:
  • Generic programming (e.g., using templates), and
  • Object-oriented programming (e.g., using classes).

Prerequisite Knowledge

• A good understanding of basic computer organization (e.g., CPU, memory, peripherals) is a necessity.
• Previous experience in high-level programming (e.g., in C or in Fortran) is strongly recommended.
• Knowledge of software analysis and design methodology is not a prerequisite, but is certainly beneficial when problem-solving via C++ technology.

Methodology

• The Short Course is designed as an extended professional development experience emphasizing computer programming in modern standard C++.
• The class format is example-driven and incorporates considerable flexibility for interaction regarding any points of special interest to attendees.
• Neither homework nor laboratory activities are required, there are no tests, and no grades are issued. However, experience has shown that best comprehension of the material is obtained by attendees who actively participate and who invest in reading and practice time outside of class.

Required Texts

		Andrew Koenig and Barbara E. Moo: Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example. Addison-Wesley, 2000. ISBN 0-201-70353-X. (Our primary text; we will cover this material largely sequentially per the Schedule below.)
		Herb Sutter and Andrei Alexandrescu: C++ Coding Standards: 101 Rules, Guidelines, and Best Practices. Addison-Wesley, 2005. ISBN 0-321-11358-6. (A supplementary text; we will coordinate this material with the corresponding topics from the primary text.)

• Attendees are strongly encouraged to bring their books to each class session.
• Registered attendees may check out books from the Fermilab Library Checkout Desk (WH3X) starting Monday, August 3, 2009, and may keep these books until the end of the Short Course.

Schedule

• Each session will be held in Wilson Hall's One West (WH1W) from 1:00 until 3:45 P.M. (occasionally slightly longer).
• The course plan is quite ambitious and may be adjusted based on the pace of the participants. It will be helpful to look over the indicated material in advance.
• Because the material to be covered is inherently cumulative, consistent attendance is strongly encouraged. Verbatim recording in any form is not permitted, so please bring appropriate materials for note-taking.
• Verified attendance at seven or at all eight sessions earns Fermilab TRAIN credit for this Short Course.
• If you were registered for a previous offering and now wish to complete the Short Course, to notify him of your intentions. Please indicate when you were previously registered.

Instructor

, Ph.D.   Office: WH9W.923.   Voice: +1 (630) 840-2784. A member of Fermilab´s Computing Division, Walter Brown has been programming in C++ for over 25 years. He has taught C++ in both academic and industrial settings, and actively participates in the international C++ standardization effort as Fermilab's representative. He is the recipient of a Fermilab Technology Award for his work in designing and implementing SIunits: the Library of Unit-Based Computation, a C++ library that encompasses the rules of the International System of Units (SI). Among the many papers and proposals he has written to make C++ even more useful to programmers in numerically-oriented programming communities, Brown is the author of A Proposal to Add Mathematical Special Functions to the C++ Standard Library. This paper has since evolved into its own ISO project, for which Brown has been appointed Project Editor.

Resources for Participants

• Your instructor makes available:
  • This Accelerated C++ Short Course Announcement and Syllabus, and
  • Additional book recommendations for C++ programmers at all levels.
• The textbooks' authors provide:
  • Koenig & Moo: Preface, Table of Contents, errata, and links to downloadable versions of the book´s example code.
  • Sutter & Alexandrescu: Table of Contents and errata.
• Dr. Bjarne Stroustrup, the designer and original implementor of the C++ programming language, maintains:
  • A C++ Glossary, as well as
  • A C++ Style and Technique FAQ.
• The ISO C++ Standards Committee makes most of its documents publicly available at its web site.
• Dinkumware, Ltd., provides an online reference to the C++ standard library.
• Herb Sutter, well-known author, maintains an archive of several dozens of C++ coding puzzles and quizzes.
• Stephen C. Dewhurst, well-known consultant and author, publishes brief online articles that "are designed to provide essential, common knowledge that every professional C++ programmer needs to know."
• Finally, you are welcome to with your question about C++ or about the Short Course.