G52CPP

C++ Programming
Lecture 1

Dr Jason Atkin
E-Mail: jaa@cs.nott.ac.uk

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 This Lecture
• Course web page
• Why learn C/C++ ?
• History of C and C++
• What this module covers
• Suggested course texts
• Assessment methods
• My view of C/C++ vs Java
• ‘C++ Hello World’ (vs ‘C Hello World’)
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 Information
• Lecture slides, sample code and lab notes
will be on the module web page:
– http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~jaa/cpp/g52cpp.html
• Or google me
(Jason Atkin)
• And scroll
down to the
buttons on
my homepage
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 Information
• Web page contents:
– Lecture slides
– Labs information (close to the lab time)
– Coursework information (later on)
– Exam revision information (nearer the exams)
• WARNING: If lecture attendance is low I
will start to remove parts of the slides on
the web – so that you have to fill them in
• Any questions?
– Easiest way is to ask at the lab session
– Or email me: jaa@cs.nott.ac.uk 4
Five reasons to learn C & C++?
1. (Still) utilised in industry
– Why so popular? (after so long)
2. Choose the appropriate tool for the task
– Understand the Java/C# vs C/C++ differences
3. More programming practice
– Much is common across languages
4. Much is VERY similar to Java and C#
– Easier to learn: much will be familiar to you
5. Useful for other modules
– And for 3rd year projects 5
www.langpop.com, normalised, 2011

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 The aims of C and C++
• C still even more popular than C++ and Java
– Especially for operating systems and device drivers
– Where layout in memory matters – control needed
• C came first : with specific design aims
– Ability to write low-level code (e.g. O/S)
– Speed and efficiency
– Ease for programmers, rather than non-programmers
• Cross-platform compilation
– Compared with Assembly code
– Not as much as Java
• Why is C still so popular (over C++ and Java)?
– Control
– Anything you can do in C++ can be done in C
– But may need more code
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 The history of C/C++
In Bell Labs, ‘B’ language created, based on BCPL
1971-1973 : Dennis Ritchie extended ‘B’ to create ‘C’
Main features of C developed over this time
1973-1980 : New features were added
C needed to be standardised!
1979 : Bjarne Stroustrup (Bell labs) extended C to make ‘C with classes’
1982 : ‘K&R’ (Kernighan and Ritchie) unofficial C ‘standard’
1983 : ‘C with classes’ renamed C++, features still being added
1989 : ANSI standard C (started in 1983!) (=> ISO standard in 1990)
Differs in some ways from K&R ‘C’ and is often named ‘C89’
Together with Amendment 1, forms ‘C’ element of ‘C++’
1990s : C++ took centre stage (Standardisation progressing)
1994 : Standard Template Library makes it into the ISO standard C++
(Some template implementation arguments ongoing as late as 2003)
1995 : Java released by Sun
1998 : ISO standard C++ ratified (C++98)
1999 : New version of C standard (C99) (Differs from C++)
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We will consider C++, G51PRG covered parts of C89
 So why C++ rather than C?
• Since everything in C++ could be done in C, why learn
C++?

• C++ giving you higher level concepts

– Hides complexity
– Java hides even more and gives no choice but ‘do it my way’
– C++ keeps the ability to do things as you wish
• Higher level view is sometimes very useful, when large
amounts of code can be reused
– C++ Class libraries are ideal for a GUI on Windows, OS/X, Linux
(then decide appearance/speed vs portability)
• C++ also adds to C a lot of non-OO features
– e.g. templates, new/delete, operator overloading, references, …
– Useful for procedural programming as well as O.O.
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 Is C++ O.O. or Procedural?
• C is procedural (no classes, hard to do OO)
• C++ will let you do either
– You CAN write procedural C++
• Object oriented C++ ‘purists’ will frown at you
– Or you can write object oriented C++
– Or mix both together (often a bad idea)
• My view: Procedural or O.O. are ways of thinking
• How do you want to think of your program?
– A lot of communicating objects
– Or ‘do this then this then this…’
• Whichever you use: (within a thread)
– Functions are still called one at a time
– And operations are executed one at a time
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 OO – a good or bad thing?
• Object oriented techniques can hide some
of the complexity (a good thing?)
– Make it easier to understand a program (?)
– Make it easier to structure a large program (?)
– Some facilities hide what is actually happening,
to simplify things (bad?)
• We are going to look at C++ as a language
for programming, not at object oriented
design/programming
• Many courses start with object oriented C++
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 Aims: I want you to …
• Be able to understand and write C/C++ source code
– Good for employment prospects
• Know what you can do in C++
– Be able to look up ‘how’ if necessary
• Understand what your code actually does
– Know something of how C++ implements features
• Know the similarities and differences between C, C++
and Java
– Understand why Java changed things
• Practise programming (will help with Java and C too)
• I will not be teaching:
– Object oriented methodology
– Object oriented C++
– How to create C++ programs to satisfy purists
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 We will start with procedural C++
Not hiding what is really
happening

Understand what is
happening
inside/underneath C++

If you understand what it is

doing, you can diagnose
and fix your program when
it goes wrong

Otherwise you need to ask

for help
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 The Iceberg of C++
• We will only look at the top – the common things
• Many other features we will not cover

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• We will also ignore object oriented theory (‘how’ not ‘why’)
 Organisation
• 2 ‘new material’ lectures per week
– 4pm on Monday and Thursday
– Introducing C and C++ concepts
• 1 demo lecture – in a lecture room/slot
– 10am Tuesday
– Demonstrations and more practical
– Usually writing code, no slides
– Introduces the labs and coursework
• 2-hour lab session
– 11am Tuesday – after the demo lecture 15
 How to learn C/C++
• Attend the lectures
• Read books & online web sites about C/C++
• But, you also need practice
– Try the samples from lectures
– Try sample programs of your own
• From books or online
– Change existing code
• Observe the effects

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 Exam Questions
• I will assume the following are valid for
exam questions:
– Things covered in the lectures
• Even if not on the lecture slides!
– Things in the samples or lab notes
• Especially the informal coursework
– The basic C/C++ language constructs
• You were introduced to many of these in G51CPP
• Operators, loops, conditionals, etc
– The common C library functions (part of C++)
• e.g. input/output functions, string functions
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 Feedback
• How do you know how well you are doing?

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 Feedback
• How do you know how well you are doing?

• Brilliant automated feedback device:

the compiler
– Check compilation warnings as well as errors!

• Utilise lab session helpers

– 2 hour session each week

• Submit informal coursework 19

Course Text

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 Recommended Course Text
• The Complete Reference: C++, Fourth Edition
by Herbert Schildt

– Similar structure to this module (C then C++)

– A reference, not a tutorial!

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/uon/docDe
tail.action?docID=10176700

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 Library:

The library has

electronic
copies of the
main module
text, available
for viewing
online

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 Other Texts (1)

• Many other C++ books

– But most books now introduce classes from the
start (so you think in an OO way)
– E.g. ‘C++ How to Program’, Deitel and Deitel
– Many books in the Jubilee library

• Other online references

– E.g. http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/

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 Other Texts (2)

• ‘The C++ Programming Language’,

by Bjarne Stroustrup
– The definitive book on the language
– but not a tutorial (a technical reference)

• ‘Effective C++’ and ‘More Effective C++’,

by Scott Meyers
– Explain many confusing elements
– Ideal for understanding ‘why’ as well as ‘how’
– NOT an introduction to C++

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Assessment

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 Course Assessment
• Course assessment is by
coursework (40%)
and exam (60%)

• Formal Coursework : 40%

– C++ programming
– A simple graphical program using the SDL
multimedia library and the supplied framework
• A lot of flexibility for you to choose how to meet the
requirements
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C++ vs Java?

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 My view of C/C++ vs Java
• C++:
– Power and control: What to do? How to do it?
• Java:
– “Do it my way and I’ll do more of the work for you”
– But it may be less efficient than doing it yourself
– Some things cannot be done in Java alone (JNI)
• Java hides many things from you
– And decides how you will do things
• Java prevents you doing some things and
checks others
– C++ trusts that you know what you are doing
– If you do not, then you can REALLY break things
• Do you want/need the power/control of C++?
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 What is C++?
Procedural C Classes
Global Functions - Grouping of related data together
File-specific functions - With associated methods (functions)
Structs ‘new’ for object creation
Pointers (addresses) ‘delete’ for object destruction
Low-level memory access Constructors, Destructors
C Preprocessor Operator Overloading
Assignment operators
Variables Conversion operators
Arrays Inheritance (sub-classing)
Loops Virtual functions & polymorphism
Conditionals Access control (private/public/protected)

Function Libraries Templates Class Libraries

Standard functions (Generic classes) (+templated classes)
Custom libraries Standard library
O/S functions Non-C features Custom libraries
e.g. References Platform specific libraries 29
 What about Java?
Procedural C Classes
Global Functions - Grouping of related data together
File-specific functions - With associated methods (functions)
Structs ‘new’ for object creation
Pointers (addresses) ‘delete’ for object destruction
Low-level memory access Constructors, Destructors
C Preprocessor Operator Overloading
Assignment operators
Variables Conversion operators (toString()?)
Arrays Inheritance (sub-classing)
Loops (ONLY) Virtual functions & polymorphism
Conditionals Access control (private/public/protected)

Function Libraries Templates Class Libraries

Standard functions ‘Generics’ (weaker) (Standardised)
Custom libraries Collections
O/S functions Non-C features Networking
Java Native Interface (ONLY) references Graphics 30
 What Sun changed for Java
• Remember: C++ came first
– The Java changes were deliberate!
• Java is cross-platform
– Interpreted intermediate byte-code (.class files)
– Standard cross-platform class libraries
– Libraries include graphics (AWT, SWING, …), networking, …
– Platform independent type sizes
– Cannot take advantage of platform-specific features
• Java prevents things which are potentially dangerous
– Pointer arithmetic (but it can be fast)
– Writing outside arrays (checks take time)
– Low-level access to memory (dangerous per powerful)
– Uninitialised data (initialisation takes time)
• Java forces you to use objects
– Even when it would be quicker not to
• Java does garbage collection for you
– Safer(?), but may execute slower than freeing memory yourself 31
So which is better: Java or C++?
• What does ‘better’ mean?
• What are you trying to do?
• Do you need the power and control that
C++ gives you?
• With less options, things may seem simpler
– Potentially harder to make mistakes
– But you lose the flexibility to optimise
• If you know both, then you have more
options (and the basics are very similar)
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 “Hello World”

A simple C++ (and C) program

Since you have had 2 semesters to

forget what you did in G51PRG
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 The “Hello World” Program
#include <stdio.h> /* C file */

int main(int argc, char* argv[])

{ C version
printf("Hello world!\n");
return 0;
}
#include <cstdio> /* C++ file */

int main(int argc, char* argv[])

{
printf("Hello world!\n"); C++ version
return 0;
} 34
 Compiling as C++
• Name the files .cpp instead of .c
• Can still include header files
• C preprocessor still exists
– Can still use #define
• Templates often make macros unnecessary
– Can still use #include
• But see next slide
• Conditional compilation is still needed in
order to avoid multiple header file inclusion
– i.e. #ifndef #define #endif
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 Using the C library functions
• The standard C library is still available
• Header files have changed names
– Add a c at the beginning and remove the .h
– e.g. #include <cstdio>
• C++ header files MAY differ from the C versions
– But provide the same functionality
– In C++ they may not actually be files
• Functions are in the std namespace
– We will consider namespaces later
• But, also available in global namespace
– So you can use them as global functions
• Need to link to the libstdc++ library in gcc
– e.g. gcc test.cpp –lstdc++ -o test
– or g++ test.cpp –o test 36
 #include
#include <cstdio>
int main( int argc, char* argv[] )
{
printf("Hello world!\n");
return 0;
}

• Pre-processor command – processed before compilation

• It means: “Replace the statement “#include <…>” by the
contents of the file(?) called ‘cstdio’ BEFORE compiling”
• stdio.h/cstdio declare many STanDard Input and
Output functions, some other functions and some
constants 37
 int main(int argc, char* argv[])
#include <cstdio>
int main( int argc, char* argv[] )
{
printf("Hello world!\n");
return 0;
}

• Define a function called main(), which returns a value of

type ‘int’ and has two parameters called argc and argv
• Your program will start with a call to your ‘main’ function
• argc and argv specify the command line arguments
• argc is of type ‘int’ and is the count of arguments
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 char* and argv
int main( int argc, char* argv[] )

• argv is of type ‘char*[ ]’,

– an array of ‘char*’s, or C-style strings
– The elements of the array are the command line
arguments
• Remember:
– char* is a pointer to a character
– In this case, a pointer to an array of characters
– With a value 0 at the end
• This is the only type of string available in C, but
C++ provides us with more possibilities
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 printf("Hello world!\n");
#include <cstdio>
int main( int argc, char* argv[] )
{
printf("Hello world!\n");
return 0;
}

• Send the string “Hello World” to the output stream

• This will usually be displayed in the output window
• Similar to the Java: System.out.print()
• BUT: The ‘f’ at the end of printf stands for ‘formatted’
• printf is a powerful function for formatting output
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 Next lecture(s)

• Demo lecture: what you should already

know : some reminders

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