C++ Programming By Example

Section 1: Introduction to C++ and Qt

In this section, we introduce C++ and Qt and get the development environment set up for the course.

• The Course Overview

• Why C++?
• Setting Up Your Development Environment
• Basic C++ Syntax
• Installing Qt5 on Windows

1.1 The Course Overview

This video provides an overview of the entire course.

1.2 Why C++?

Why should you use C++ in 2018? Is the language still useful?

• Identify how C++ is used today

• Compare the advantages that C++ has over other languages
• Analyze the particular reasons for using C++

1.3 Setting Up Your Development Environment

How do you set up a C++ development environment on Windows 10?

• Download and install Visual Studio

• Download and install CMake
• Test with a small check

1.4 Basic C++ Syntax

What is the basic C++ language “grammar”?

• Identify the primitive integer types

• Understand primitive floating-point types
• Know how to control the code execution flow

1.5 Installing Qt5 on Windows

How do you install Qt5 on Windows 10?

• Download installer from the web

 • Run installer
• Select the correct items in installer to install

Section 2: Building a Virtual Die with C++

In this section, we build our first C++ application: a virtual die.

• Setting Up Your First C++ Project

• Coding a Virtual Die – Generating Random Numbers
• Coding a Virtual Die – Displaying the Output
• Enhancing the Virtual Die with User Input

2.1 Setting Up Your First C++ Project

How to use the course source code?

• Obtain the source code

• Open CMake and open source directory in CMake
• Configure the project via CMake and then generate the solution

2.2 Coding a Virtual Die – Generating Random Numbers

How do you generate random numbers in C++?

• Introduce cppreference for C++ documentation

• Understand probability distributions and which one is appropriate for a die
• Use the classes available in the C++ standard template library to generate a random number

2.3 Coding a Virtual Die – Displaying the Output

How to display formatted output to the user?

• Know printf() via cppreference

• Use printf() to show formatted statements
• Implement different placeholders to print different values

2.4 Enhancing the Virtual Die with User Input

How to get input from the user and use it in the virtual die?

• Introduce std::cin
• Show a brief example of using std::cin
 • Allow viewers to implement the coding exercise to get user input on die range and number of
rolls

Section 3: Data Structures and Algorithms: Building a Sorting Application

Here we get into the bread and butter of C++: containers and algorithms. C++ is designed to be generic
and flexible, and here you’ll get to see that first hand. We’ll begin with an overview of some of the
available containers in the Standard Template Library.

• Overview of Containers in C++

• A Deeper Dive into std::vector
• Overview of STL Algorithms
• Use STL Algorithms with Containers
• Building a Sorting Application

3.1 Overview of Containers in C++

What are the available containers for storing data in C++?

• Look at cppreference on available container classes

• Code small examples on how to use containers
• Run samples and observe the output to understand how the containers work

3.2 A Deeper Dive into std::vector

What is the proper use of std::vector?

• Analyze cppreference to show nuances of using std::vector

• Show the difference between push_back and emplace_back
• Understand the “proper” ways to initialize a std::vector

3.3 Overview of STL Algorithms

What algorithms are available in the standard template library?

• Introduce algorithms available in the standard template library via the documentation
• Implement examples of use of the various algorithms
• Show the output from program runs using the STL algorithms

3.4 Use STL Algorithms with Containers

How do you use STL algorithms with C++ containers?

 • Explain iterators
• Show examples to further illustrate how they work
• Analyze the results of the examples via print statements

3.5 Building a Sorting Application

How to build a mini address book that is sortable by first name, last name, and phone number?

• Introduce std::pair and std::tuple

• Create fake data for “phone book”
• Show how to use the std::sort function to sort by first name, last name, and phone number

Section 4: Classes and Structures: Building a Casino Guessing Game

In this section, you’ll learn about classes and structures in C++ and use them to organize your code. We’ll
put this into practice by building a casino-style guessing game.

• Why Use Classes and Structures?

• Overview of Classes and Structures
• Differences Between Classes and Structures
• Implementing a Casino Guessing Game

4.1 Why Use Classes and Structures?

Why should you bother about classes/structures in C++?

• Learn to design code logically

• Understand how to re-use code
• Encapsulate ideas/models in code

4.2 Overview of Classes and Structures

How do you use/declare classes and structures in C++?

• Use the ‘class’ and ‘struct’ keywords

• Analyze { and }; to define where a class begins/ends
• Implement access modifiers such as ‘public’, ‘private’, and ‘protected’

4.3 Differences Between Classes and Structures

What is the difference between a class and a structure?

• Understand that they basically do the same thing

 • Default access modifier for classes is private. For structures, it’s public
• Structures are still around to preserve C compatibility

4.4 Implementing a Casino Guessing Game

How can you use classes/structures to make a game?

• Think of the parts of the game

• Imagine what each class in the game should do
• Implement the game and play

Section 5: Building a Library Management System

You’ll get to put everything you’ve learned together to build a custom library management system.

• Planning out an Application

• Building a Library Management System
• Adding Test Data
• Adding Search Functionality

5.1 Planning out an Application

How to structure and plan an application?

• Identify key parts of the application

• Plan out the class structure using class diagrams (UML)
• Create a class implementation using UML diagrams

5.2 Building a Library Management System

How to build a library management system (books)?

• Plan out the classes

• Implement the classes based on the plan
• Compare functions for basic functionality in the application

5.3 Adding Test Data

How to add test data to the application?

• Define basic data in code

• Add a test .csv file with fake data
• Edit the .csv file to see how the library works
5.4 Adding Search Functionality

How can you add search functionality to the application?

• Learn what algorithms could be used from the STL

• Implement search by book title
• Experiment with search by author

Section 6: Getting Acquainted with Qt

Here you’ll get a basic GUI application setup and running to get acquainted with Qt5.

• Setting Up Your First GUI Project

• Setting Up a Basic GUI with Qt Creator
• Running Your First GUI Application

6.1 Setting Up Your First GUI Project

How do you use CMake to set up a GUI project?

• Install Qt5
• Implement CMake for your Qt5 directory as shown in the video
• Reconfigure and generate the project via CMake

6.2 Setting Up a Basic GUI with Qt Creator

How can you add UI elements to your GUI application?

• Open Qt Creator
• Create a new Qt class
• Add the files to the correct folders in the course code

6.3 Running Your First GUI Application

In what ways can you run your GUI application?

• Run the app through Visual Studio

• Run the app through PowerShell
• Run the app through File Explorer

Section 7: Qt Signals and Slots: Building a Text Editor

You will get acquainted with Qt5 further by using signals and slots to create a reactive UI.

• Setting Up Your Text Editor Project

• Creating a Basic GUI in Qt Creator
• Reacting to User Interaction with Signals and Slots
• Creating Custom Slots
• Finishing the Text Editor

7.1 Setting Up Your Text Editor Project

How do you use CMake to set up a GUI project?

• Use the basic project setup provided by instructor

• Open Qt Creator and created the needed files as shown
• Put the files in the correct folders

7.2 Creating a Basic GUI in Qt Creator

How to use Qt Creator to make a basic GUI?

• Open the *.ui file in Qt Creator

• Add the QPlainTextEdit widget to the UI
• Arrange the layout contents vertically and add menu items

7.3 Reacting to User Interaction with Signals and Slots

What are signals and slots in Qt?

• Go through the Qt documentation

• Understand that signals get emitted when something happens
• Learn that slots can be “connected” to signals to react to events

7.4 Creating Custom Slots

How do you write your own slots?

• Use access modifier “public” + keyword “slots”

• Implement the function declaration like any other class method
• Define the implementation like any other class method

7.5 Finishing the Text Editor

How do you save the file on the system and open the same on the system later?

• Remove unnecessary signal and slot connections

 • Allow for saving the text file to anywhere on the system
• Open any text file on the computer

Section 8: Building a Painting Application in Qt5

In this section, you’ll get a taste of some of the more advanced Qt topics, including building your own
custom Qt5 widget.

• Setting Up Your Painting Application

• Understanding Qt5 Widgets
• Creating Your Own Qt5 Widget
• Reacting to User Input
• Painting User Input on Screen
• Adding the Ability to Draw Circles
• Allow for Shape Resizing

8.1 Setting Up Your Painting Application

How to set up a basic application?

• Use basic project setup provided by instructor

• Open Qt Creator and created needed files as shown
• Put the files in the correct folders

8.2 Understanding Qt5 Widgets

How do Qt5 widgets work under the hood?

• Look at the Qt5 documentation

• Understand that Qt widgets are “painted”
• Understand that Qt5 widgets use painters to “paint” their content

8.3 Creating Your Own Qt5 Widget

How do you create your own Qt5 widget?

• Look at the Qt documentation

• Inherit from QWidget
• Override parent methods that we need in the class

8.4 Reacting to User Input

How can we react to user input in our custom widget?

 • Look at the Qt documentation
• Override mouse event functions
• Print data to the console to confirm that the app is reacting properly

8.5 Painting User Input on Screen

How can we paint user input on the screen?

• Introduce the QPainterPath class along with QPainter

• Update the list of paths in the widget and draw them
• Update the current path as the user uses the widget

8.6 Adding the Ability to Draw Circles

How can we add the ability to draw shapes?

• Look at the QPainterPath documentation

• Change drawing style on a custom widget based on user selection
• Use the ‘addEllipse’ and ‘addRect’ functions

8.7 Allow for Shape Resizing

How can we allow for shapes to be resized as they’re drawn?

• Demo of what the result should look like

• Create simple structs to model a circle and square
• Use QPainter directly to update the widget when drawing shapes