Sams Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days

At a Glance

As you prepare for your first week of learning how to pro-

gram in C++, you will need a few things: a compiler, an edi-

tor, and this book. If you don’t have a C++ compiler and an

editor, you can still use this book, but you won’t get as much

out of it as you would if you were to do the exercises.

The best way to learn to program is by writing programs! At

the end of each day, you will find a workshop containing a

quiz and some exercises. Be certain to take the time to answer

all the questions, and to evaluate your work as objectively as

you can. The later lessons build on what you learn in the ear-

lier days, so be certain you fully understand the material

before moving on.

A Note to C Programmers ......................................................................................

The material in the first five days will be familiar to you;

however, there are a few minor differences if you want to fol-

low the C++ standards. Be certain to skim the material and to

do the exercises, to ensure you are fully up to speed before

going on to Day 6, “Understanding Object-Oriented

Programming.”

Where You Are Going..............................................................................................

The first week covers the material you need to get started

with programming in general, and with C++ in particular. On

Day 1, “Getting Started,” and Day 2, “The Anatomy of a C++

Program,” you will be introduced to the basic concepts of

programming and program flow. On Day 3, “Working with

Variables and Constants,” you will learn about variables and

WEEK 1 1

2 3 4 5 6 7

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