Professional C++

Chapter 1. A Crash Course in C++

The goal of this chapter is to cover briefly the most important parts of C++ so that you have a base of knowledge before embarking on the rest of the book. This chapter is not a comprehensive lesson in the C++ programming language. The very basic points (like what a program is and the difference between = and ==) are not covered. The very esoteric points (remember what a union is? how about the volatile keyword?) are also omitted. Certain parts of the C language that are less relevant in C++ are also left out, as are parts of C++ that get in-depth coverage in later chapters.

This chapter aims to cover the parts of C++ that programmers encounter on a daily basis. If you've been away from C++ for a while and you've forgotten the syntax for a for loop, you'll find that in this chapter. If you're fairly new to C++ and you don't understand what a reference variable is, you'll learn that here as well.

If you already have significant experience with C++, skim this chapter to make sure that there aren't any fundamental parts of the language on which you need to brush up. If you're new to C++, take the time to read this chapter carefully and make sure that you understand the examples. If you need additional introductory information, consult the titles listed in Appendix B.

The Basics of C++

The C++ language is often viewed as a "better C" or a "superset of C." Many of the annoyances or rough edges of the C language were addressed when C++ was designed. Because ...