Part 1

Foundations

What a program is, what the compiler does with it, and the handful of constructs every later chapter assumes. Nothing here presumes you have programmed before.

• 1.1

  Hello, machine

  How source text becomes a running program, and what each stage can go wrong at.

  7 min
• 1.2

  Values, types, and names

  Why C++ insists on knowing the type of everything, and what that buys you.

  8 min
• 1.3

  Making decisions

  if, else, switch, and the boolean logic underneath them.

  5 min
• 1.4

  Repetition

  Loops, and the off-by-one errors that live in them.

  6 min
• 1.5

  Functions

  Parameters, returns, overloads, and the cost of each calling convention.

  7 min
• 1.6

  Your toolchain

  Compiler flags, warnings, debuggers, and sanitizers — the tools that turn silent bugs into loud ones.

  8 min