C++ Tutorial for Beginners - Learn C++ in 1 Hour

Welcome to the ultimate C++ course where you'll learn everything from basics to advanced concepts, gaining confidence in writing C code.

C++ is a popular and efficient programming language used for building performance-critical applications, web browsers, servers, and more. It's still relevant despite newer languages like Java or C#. Learning C++ opens up job opportunities with high salaries in the software engineering field.

To create C++ programs, we use an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) which contains a code editor and build/debugging tools. The top three popular IDEs are Microsoft Visual Studio (for Windows), Xcode (for Mac), and CLion (cross-platform). While the Community Edition of Visual Studio is free, CLion offers a 30-day trial but requires a license after that. It's recommended to download the free version of CLion from jetbrains.com/clion/download if you're new to coding.

Creating Your First C++ Program Creating Your First C++ Program: In this chapter, we go through the process of creating our first C++ program using CLion. We start by activating the license and setting up a new project with specific language standards. Then, we write a simple 'Hello World' program in main.cpp file and discuss the structure of functions within a C++ program.

Understanding Main Function Understanding Main Function and Basic Syntax: This chapter focuses on understanding the main function as an entry point to our program. It explains how to define functions, specify return types, use standard library for output (printing text), terminate statements with semicolons, and return values to indicate successful termination or errors.

To run a C++ program, we first need to compile the code into machine code that is specific to the computer's operating system. The compiled executable will only run on the same OS it was compiled for. Running the program involves clicking on a play icon or using shortcuts like control and r. Console applications are easier for beginners, and graphical user interface (GUI) applications are more complex.

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This course is the first part of a complete C++ series, covering basics in 3-4 hours. It includes fundamentals like data types, decision making statements, loops, and functions. The course offers exercises for problem-solving skills and confidence in coding. Subsequent parts cover intermediate concepts (arrays, pointers) and advanced topics (classes, exceptions). By the end of this series you'll have a solid understanding of C++ to apply it in real-life scenarios such as game development with Unreal Engine.

You don't need to memorize anything in this course. A complete cheat sheet and summary notes are available for download as a PDF.

This section covers the basics of C++ programming, including variables, constants, naming conventions, mathematical expressions, console input/output operations and comments. The goal is to enable learners to write simple yet useful programs in C++.

Variables in Programming In programming, variables are used to temporarily store data in the computer's memory. A variable is the name of a location in memory where we can store some value. To declare a variable in C++, we specify the type of data (e.g., int for whole numbers) and give it a meaningful name like 'file size.' It's important to use meaningful names and initialize variables before using them.

Swapping Variable Values To swap values between two variables, we need to use a third temporary variable. We empty one bucket into the temporary bucket, then move content from another bucket into the first one, and finally fill up the second bucket with content from our temporary bucket. This concept is applied by declaring a third variable ('temp') initialized with one value; then swapping values between 'a' and 'b' using this temp variable.

In programming, constants are used when we don't want the value of a variable to change. For example, using 'const' before declaring a variable prevents accidental changes in its value. This is important for maintaining accurate calculations and preventing errors in the program.

Naming conventions for variables and constants include snake case, pascal case, camel case, and Hungarian notation. Snake case uses lowercase letters with words separated by underscores. Pascal case capitalizes the first letter of every word. Camel case is similar to pascal but starts with a lowercase letter for the first word. Hungarian notation prefixes variable names with type indicators (e.g., 'i' for integer). However, this old convention is no longer relevant due to modern code editors providing type information on hover.

Mathematical Expressions in C++ In this chapter, we learn how to write mathematical expressions for performing calculations using variables and constants. We explore addition, subtraction, multiplication, division (including the challenge of dealing with integers), modulus operator for obtaining remainders after division, and modifying variables by incrementing or decrementing them.

Increment and Decrement Operators This chapter covers the usage of increment and decrement operators in C++. It explains both postfix and prefix application of these operators along with examples. The tutorial also includes a brief promotion about enrolling in the complete C++ series course offered by Mosh Hamedani.

When writing mathematical expressions, it's crucial to consider the order or priority of operators. Multiplication and division have a higher priority than addition or subtraction. Using parentheses can change the order of operations.

Writing Output to the Console In this chapter, we learned how to write to the console using C++. We used 'c out' from the std namespace as an object representing standard output. The stream insertion operator '<<' was used for writing a sequence of characters on the console. Chaining multiple stream insertion operators allowed us to combine statements and format our code properly. Additionally, we solved a problem of repetition by using the 'using directive' before our main function.

Calculating Taxes and Improving Code Readability This chapter focused on calculating state and county taxes based on total sales in C++. We also discussed improving code readability by separating different stories within our code with vertical lines, avoiding magic numbers through variable declaration, utilizing constants for fixed values like tax rates, meaningful variable naming conventions were emphasized throughout.

In this chapter, we learn how to read input from the console using c in and the stream extraction operator. We use c out to print a label on the screen, then use c in to read a value and put it into a variable. The video also explains reading floating point numbers, chaining statements together for shorter code, and provides an exercise of converting temperatures from Fahrenheit to Celsius.

The standard library provides mathematical functions like ceil and floor, which round up and down values. These functions can be found in the cmath file and are accessible through include directives. The pow function takes two arguments to calculate a power value, while constants should be used instead of magic numbers for better code readability.

Comments are used to clarify code and make it easier to understand. In C++, comments can be written using two forward slashes for single-line comments or a forward slash and an asterisk for multi-line comments. It's important not to overuse comments, as they can make the code harder to understand and maintain. Comments should only be used to explain whys and how, not what.

This section explores the fundamental data types in C++. It covers built-in types, their size and limits, representing numbers with differences. Topics include generating random numbers for games, working with boolean values, characters and strings as well as arrays for storing lists of values.

C++ is a statically typed language, meaning that variables need to have their type specified and this type cannot change throughout the program's lifetime. Other statically typed languages include C#, Java, and TypeScript. In contrast, dynamically typed languages like Python, JavaScript, and Ruby determine variable types based on assigned values which can change during the program's execution.

Initializing Variables in C++ In C++, variables can be declared and initialized using different data types such as double, float, long, char, and boolean. It's important to use the correct suffixes like 'f' for floats and 'l' for longs to avoid data loss or misinterpretation by the compiler. The auto keyword allows the compiler to infer variable types based on initialization values. Brace initialization prevents incorrect assignments and initializes variables with zero if no value is provided.

Benefits of Using Brace Initialization Brace initialization in modern C++ prevents mistakes by disallowing incorrect assignments through braces instead of assignment operators. It also ensures that uninitialized variables are set to zero rather than containing unpredictable garbage values.

In math, we use decimal (base 10) numbers with digits 0-9, while computers understand binary (base 2) numbers with only zeros and ones. Hexadecimal (base 16) numbers are used to shorten binary representations. In programming, hexadecimal is used to represent colors using six digits.

When working with numbers, narrowing occurs when initializing a variable of a smaller type using a larger type. For example, converting an integer to a short results in narrowing conversion and may lead to data loss. Using brace initializer can prevent this issue.

Generating Random Numbers in C++ To generate random numbers in C++, we use the rand function from the cstdlib library. However, these numbers are not truly random and are based on a mathematical formula. To get different values each time, we can use srand to seed the random number generator with a different value or use the current time as an argument for srand.

Writing a Program to Roll Dice In this program, we include iostream, cstdlib, and ctime files at the top. We then seed the random number generator with current time using srand. Next, by using constants for minimum and maximum values (1 and 6), along with modulus operator (%), we generate two random dice roll values between 1 to 6.