Transition from C to C++

…and a Review of Basic Problem

Solving
 Why Switch to C++
• To pass this class. ;-)
• To get a job (or “Everyone else is doing
it…”)
• Path of least resistance to OOP

• Nicer I/O model

• Better comment format
 Why Switch to C++ (cont’d)
• Supports an OO approach to programming
– Classes
– Inheritance
– Polymorphism
– Exceptions
• Provides powerful features on top of a
“fast” language
 How to Switch to C++
1. Learn about differences
a. New tools (compilers, debuggers, etc.)
b. New libraries
c. New file naming conventions
d. New syntax
e. Available standards
2. Rethink programming approach
 1a. New Tools for C++
• Compiler: g++ or CC (CC is only on the
SGIs)
• Debugger: gdb, dbx (SGI), cvd (SGI), or
printf(). ;-)
• Some text editors “understand” C++.
(formatting, syntax highlighting)
 1b. New Libraries for C++
• All of the C libraries still work!

• Some C++ specific libraries will be

introduced throughout the semester.
 1c. New File Naming
Conventions for C++
• Some conventions for file names
– foo.H, foo.C
– foo.hh, foo.cc
– Also foo.cpp, foo.cxx
• Conventions for source code are on the
course web page under Coding Standards
 1d. New Syntax
• Syntax virtually identical to C
– C++’s features add syntax

• More on syntax throughout the semester

 1e. Available Standards
• ISO/IEC 14882 in 1997
– Adopted ANSI in 1998
 2. Rethinking Programming
Approach
• Programming languages provide tools
– Tools are your language to solve problems
– Learn to work with them, not against them
– Use the idioms of the language
 Some questions about C
• What is C?
– C is a low-level, procedural, systems
programming language.
• What problem did C solve?
• Designed as a system’s programming language
for UNIX in the 1970s
• A fast, flexible, low-level language was needed.
 Some Questions about C++
• What is C++?
– C++ is an extension of C that provides support
for object-oriented programming.
• What problem did it solve?
– Stroustrup states, “I built C++ as a bridge over
which people would pass from traditional
programming to styles relying on data
abstraction and object-oriented programming.”
 Procedural vs. Object-oriented
• Procedural Programming
– Program execution is a series of “procedures” operating
on data.
– Procedures (or “operations”) and data are separate
constructs.
• Object-oriented Programming
– Program execution is a series of object interactions.
– Data and operations on those data belong together as a
single unit.
 Why OOP?
• OOP was “discovered” in the 1960s:
– The Simula project
• Collections of variables and procedures for “natural
units of programming”.
 Goals of Software Development
• When developing software, we strive for
software that is:
– Correct (meets requirements)
– Reliable (bug free)
– Easily maintained (corrections and upgrades)
– Reusable
 C++ for Software Development
• As an “object-oriented” language, C++
helps create
– Reusable code
– More easily maintained code

• Bad programmers will still write bad

programs.
Problem Solving

(A Review)
 Tools for Problem Solving
1. Defining the problem (WHAT)
• Formalization
2. Developing a solution (HOW)
– Creativity
– Decomposition
 1. Defining the problem
• Formalize the problem
– Name it
– If you can’t formalize it, you don’t understand it
• Make your program solve the problem at hand (or
a more general version of the same problem)
• Constraints are part of the problem too!
– Time
– $$$
– Other Resources (memory, etc.)
 2. Developing a solution
• Creativity
– Creative != “Slick”
• Decomposition
– Top down design
– Every problem consists of subproblems.
• Decompose your problem into its subproblems, then
repeat on each subproblem.
• Understand the interaction of the subproblems, then
solve them one by one.