Southampton University DACE

Object Oriented Programming with C++

JC258

Overview of Sessions

Tutor : David Millard (dem@soton.ac.uk)

The course is divided into twelve sessions described below and includes three pieces of coursework. I will put notes for the sessions and details of the courseworks on-line as the course progresses.

The following courseworks have now been set

1. Coursework 1 (---)
2. Coursework 2 (---)
3. Coursework 3 (---)
4. Coursework 3b (---)

I have compiled a list of resources that are available for you to use. Of particular interest will be the free compilers and online help. Follow the link below to find them:

Resources

The courses twelve sessions will approximately follow this pattern:

1) Introduction

• Why Objects
• Why C++
• Introduction to Web notes and examples
• First C++ program - Basic io in C++

2) Classes and Objects

• Difference between a class and an object
• Comparison with struct
• Defining a class, accessing variables and methods within a class

3) Encapsulation and Access

• Encapsulation
• Aggregation
• Access levels : public and private

4) Memory Management

• Pointers vs References
• Operators new and delete
• Arrays

5) Inheritance

• Indroducing inheritance
• Superclass and Subclass
• Object construction
• Overiding behaviour
• Access levels : protected

6) Object Oriented Design

• Data structures in object oriented programming, the linked list
• Designing classes in multiple files
• Using Destructors to remove objects cleanly
• Using the friend keyword to open up classes

7) Polymorphism

• Virtual functions (virtual destructors)
• Abstract classes
• Static vs dynamic binding

8) Object Oriented Design 2

• Look at how we design a larger program
• Examine such a program and see how it works
• Try adding extra functionality to the program

9) Exceptions and Error Handling

• Error Handling using return codes
• Using Exceptions
• Writing Exception classes

10) Operator overloading

• Manipulating objects like built in types (inc. copy constructor)
• Assignment
• Comparison

11) Introducing Templates

• Reusing algorithms with different types
• Template classes
• Defining and using templates

12) Looking at Complex Problems (not available on the web!)

• How to go about solving problems using the OO philosophy
• Examining a soloution to Coursework 3 as an example

Additional Work

Through the sessions in this course we have covered a large portion of the C++ language, in particular concentrating on those aspects that also appear in other object oriented languages (i.e. encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism). However there are other things in the language that are worth spending some time on. The following sessions are ones that we will not actually do in the course but are still worth you looking at in your own time.

Extra 1) The Standard Template Library (STL)

• Have a look at some of the template classes in the Standard Template Library (STL)
• Learn what it is important to consider when using them

Extra 2) Streams

• C++ input/output streams
• Operators
• File I/O