Classes, Memory, I/O, and Templates

This unit develops core C++ programming skills beyond syntax to build robust, modular applications. Students explore object-oriented design, memory and pointer management, input/output and string processing, templates, lambdas, and debugging techniques to produce maintainable code.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze and manage dynamic and automatic storage by implementing constructors/destructors, working with raw pointers, and applying RAII principles to prevent memory leaks and undefined behavior
• Apply object-oriented principles to design and implement classes, encapsulation, inheritance/composition, class hierarchies, and common patterns (e.g., Singleton, Observer) for modular, reusable components
• Demonstrate proficiency using C++ streams and libraries for formatted output, file and directory access, stream manipulation, tokenization, parsing, and user-defined literals to handle program I/O
• Evaluate and improve program correctness and maintainability by using debugging tools and techniques, exception handling, lambdas, templates, and appropriate standard/Boost library facilities