Are you C++ curious?

This participatory session will give you a taste of C++. We'll write some small programs, kick around some ideas, have some conversations, with the aim of getting a bit of a feel for the language - what it looks like, how it differs from or is similar to the languages you already know, and maybe even how some of it works.

We'll try to tour round the major features of the language, but we will, of necessity, have to go at a bit of a lick so it'll be something of a whistle-stop tour. What we won't be doing though is dwelling on the history, engaging in diatribes about why such-and-such is better than so-and-so, and we'll try and avoid esoterica. I hope it'll be fun, if slightly frantic.

You? You should be familiar with another language - JavaScript, Python, Java, C#, or pretty much anything else. Please bring a laptop⁺, your typing fingers, and maybe some questions.

Me? I'm Jez Higgins, a jobbing programmer who has had an on-again off-again relationship with C++ for over 25 years. I'll try to bring some answers.

⁺ Ideally, you'll have either CLion or Visual Studio Code (with the C/C++ and CMake Tools extensions) installed beforehand. CLion has a 30 day trial license, while Visual Studio Code is free. Don't worry if not, just arrive a few minutes early and I'll try to sort you out. If you're a 'vi'/emacs/Sublime/anything-else user, that's fine too - but you will need a C++ compiler and CMake installed on your system. In general, if you're on a Unix-like system you probably do, and if you're on Windows you probably don't.

Jez Higgins is a freelance software grandad. He mucks in with programming, lends a hand with build & deployment processes, provides a leg up with TDD practices, and keeps an eye on the young 'uns so they don’t fall down the old mine shaft.