Learning C++, Tutorial Introduction

The C++ Tutorial Goals

Writing learning material in the blog format is a little unusual. Also, there are plenty of C++ books out there most of what I write about I learned from myself. Like many visitors who found this page on Google, when I want to learn something I usually buy a book. When I want to learn a quick detail or researching additional information to what I already know, I might do an Internet search. However, I find the blog medium easy to use and it has the quality of publishing itself as it is being written. I usually write blogs in a book-like style. Before I wrote any C++ programming language tutorials for this blog, I created a few goals. I list these goals below:

• Volume - I will cover many topics starting from the fundamentals. This is a one-stop blog for learning C++.
• Value - I will write in a way that teaches readers about important C++ concepts and terminology. I will provide crucial knowledge required to design effective applications with C++.
• Readability - I will write tutorials that are easy to read and understand. I use simple language and write all tutorial articles as if I am writing a book, and not just a quick and dirty solution.
• Thoroughness - Important concepts will be explained and additional details will be provided when necessary. The reader will discover in-depth knowledge about programming in C++.
• Free Tutorials - The tutorials are free and are available at no cost whatsoever. And who wouldn't like a free thing once in a while? However, I will accept donations from the kind readers as a reward for long hours that were put into writing these tutorials.

Introduction to Learning C++ Tutorials

The purpose of C++ tutorials stored on this site is to give you an insight into the key concepts of programming. The C++ tutorials are written for the audience who are known as beginners. However, I like to be thorough and in-depth about studying something myself and so I prefer to teach others by mentioning the details as well. Because of this, I believe that even an intermediate, or advanced-level programmer can scoop up some interesting facts and ideas from the tutorial series. I try not to offend your intelligence, but I will also take time to explain the important concepts in detail and provide a visual representation of the knowledge being explained. For example, when you will be learning about pointers, I draw a sketch of the memory model and explain what a pointer is. This allows the student to be able to represent a problem visually in their head when they learn, as well as when it comes to design your own applications in the real world. Of course, if you already know something you can simply skip to the next tutorial.

Why Another C++ Tutorial?

There are many Free C++ tutorials on the Internet, I know. But I also notice that whatever is free on the Internet has a bad habit of not being very good, or not very targeted. Bloggers sometimes write tutorials with the intent to attract search engine and RSS traffic to their blogs, and as a result, their focus on writing excellent content suffers and the resulting tutorials don't feel cared about.

On the other hand, writers who do care about good content decide to only offer paid tutorials to monetize the value of their work. I thought that my focus should be on writing The Best Free C++ Tutorials on the Internet. Whether I achieve that or not, I can't tell you, but I sure enough will try. In the end, I'd like to share the wealth of information about the C++ programming language that I have gained over the past years with the Internet programmer's community who would love to learn it the proper way for free.

I wanted to create these series of C++ tutorials as a gem for the smart people who are interested in studying the beast that is C++ Programming Language. People who are just entering the domain of information about this magnificent and powerful programming tool. It is those people who are hungry for the information on this subject as they learn new and exciting concepts and ideas. And it is them who really need a good, free resource that does not suffer from quality loss just because someone is trying to make money on the Internet by writing articles and burning blog feeds.

My Knowledge, References and Research

Now one might think, who is this guy and why should I listen to what he writes about as my C++ teacher? Well, I have been learning computer languages of all kinds since an early age. I lived in a family where not many things were happening and I would often spend time playing computer games. One day, my uncle, who also built computers (at that time he built 286 and 386 Intel-processor based PCs) has typed the code into my ZX-Spectrum with 48kb of memory that rendered a line on the screen. The language was called BASIC. I was about 12 years old at that time, but that event launched me into the computer programming world. I was so excited about seeing the line on the screen, that I proceeded to continue my studies. Years later, I began studying C++. My intention was to thorough ly inspect the language so I can effectively use it as a programming tool in my career as a software engineer. If you would like to make any corrections or suggestions, you can reach me at greg.sidelnikov@gmail.com.

As of this writing I am 26, I live in the Bay Area, San Francisco, California. I am a Software Engineer and a Web-Developer. I have been studying C++ from books and conducting my own experiments, such as 2D and 3D rendering engines, chat-bot programs, computer graphics effects, Instant Messengers, and plenty of others. I have respect for Bjarne Stroustrup as the creator of C++, as well as the writer of its thorough documentation. The C++ Programming Language, special edition is one of the books, I have learned concepts of C++ from. Learning by reading books is one of the most effective and efficient ways to learn something. And you know that a book written by the creator and the designer of the C++ programming language is the best way to learn C++ with seriousness. Perhaps one day I can write more about myself and my experience with C++. Right now, I want you to make a decision.

Make a choice. Are These C++ Tutorials for You?

When one decides to write a book, documentation or even a set of online tutorials, one must also choose the niche audience for which the text is written. In my series of C++ Tutorials, I assume that you have at least looked at C++ and have a strong interest in learning it, and that you want to become comfortable with writing programs in this computer language. With each tutorial I try to cover as much information as I can and try to provide related details that you must know in order to be an effective programmer. We will start with the basic principles of programming in C++ such as identifiers, variables, functions, statements, conditionals, memory allocation and move toward more advanced topics such as classes, objects, inheritance, interfaces and templates. Some of these concepts are timeless. For example one bit of infomation is a concept that has stood the test of time ever since transistors have been invented and used in computers and other electronic devices.

Existing tutorials on Authentic Society are always in process of being updated and edited. There are a few C++ tutorials that are always in the making, as long as I am working on these series. I will let you know when I am done writing the C++ tutorials by posting a blog about it which will also be the ending article in the series. At any time, however, I will also accept special tutorial requests, if you have any ideas or would like to know anything in particular. At that point I would either add information to an existing tutorial in order to improve it or write a new one from scratch. I will be sure to let you know where and when these changes take place. But you can also save me time and do it for yourself with RSS feeds.

The C++ Tutorial RSS feed

There are many other things I write about on Authentic Society, and so I decided to create a special C++ RSS Feed, perhaps valuable to people who want to keep track of new C++ Tutorials as they appear on this website.