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For reasons I will spare you, I have two weeks to learn some C++.
I can learn alone just fine, but I need a good source. I don't think I have time to go through an entire book, and so I need some cliff notes, or possibly specific chapters/specialized resources I need to look up.
I know my Asm/C/C# well, and so anything inherited from C, or any OOP is not needed.
What I do need is some sources on the following subjects(I have a page that specifies what is needed, this is basically it, but I trimmed what I know):

  1. new/delete in C++ (as opposed to C#).
  2. Overloading cin/cout.
  3. Constructor, Destructor and MIL.
  4. Embedded Objects.
  5. References.
  6. Templates.

If you feel some basic C++ concept that is not shared with C/C# is not included on this list, feel free to enter those as well. But the above subjects are the ones I'm supposed to roughly know in two week's time.
Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Edit: I want to clarify - I don't expect to study for two weeks and then go and write Quake.
I need to get to a level where given some code and a while to think about it, I can understand it. nuances like ++X vs X++ don't matter as much as knowing what the main keywords are, etc.

Rubys
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  • http://stackoverflow.com/questions/388242/the-definitive-c-book-guide-and-list and from that list "Accelerated C++" –  May 17 '10 at 22:48
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    You can't learn C++ in two weeks. It takes years. All you'll learn in two weeks is, at best, syntax. – anno May 17 '10 at 23:00
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    I'd add to that list at least **RAII**, which is one of the key concepts in correctly managing memory and resources in C++, without leaking them (especially if you use exceptions). To work efficiently you should also learn at least the basics of the STL, but the time is too little. – Matteo Italia May 17 '10 at 23:11
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    You know, TWO WEEKS is more than enough time to get through one of bjarne stroustroup's books about C++ few times. Still, you won't learn everything in 2 weeks (you'll get syntax, but that is all). You need a year, at least. – SigTerm May 17 '10 at 23:15

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This site is your best bet. Although its a great reference anyway, the way the questions are phrased and organised you'll be able to get up to speed quicker:

http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/

Robben_Ford_Fan_boy
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I will be honest with you. In 2 weeks, you won't be able to learn the whole C++.
Let me rephrase that, because no one will ever know everything about C++ (it is very huge and yet it's still growing), you won't be able to learn everything you need to become an expert C++ programmer.

However, if you do have some good programming background, many concepts in C++ will sound familiar to you. This will help you learn complex concepts quicker than novice programmers.

I would suggest you to go to C++ FAQ Lite
because it is the site that lists all the main concepts of C++.

Don't expect to program something enterprisy after going through the site, because that ability comes after you have coded some extensive systems in C++. However, the site will definitely help you to understand what C++ looks like and other people deal with in C++.

GOOD LUCK :)

codingbear
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  • Of course, I don't expect to know everything ^^ A good measure of the level I need is being able to decently read some code. To know what the most commonly used keywords are, etc. – Rubys May 18 '10 at 15:07
  • If you skim through the site I suggested, I think you can get the feel of C++. It's much better when you have the actual code in front of you and you know what you are looking for :) – codingbear May 19 '10 at 17:48
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Thinking in C++, Volume II. Free, well written and available online.

http://www.mindview.net/Books/TICPP/ThinkingInCPP2e.html

viksit
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I know you said you didn't want to read a book but "Accelerated C++" is probably what you want. It was actually was used in like a 2 week crash course at Stanford from what I remember to get people up to speed on C++.

daveangel
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If you do not have time to go through an entire book, you may try an online tutorial such as the one at http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/.

However, it will be useful to go into more depth about common pitfalls and good practice in C++. A good online resource for this is the C++ FAQ lite, at http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/ .

If you decide to buy or borrow a book, "Effective C++" by Scott Meyers would be a good choice. You do not need to read it front to back, as each chapter is dedicated to a specific problem you are likely to encounter when writing C++ code, and can be read separately.

cj.
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If you need quick explanations of specific sections of the language, http://www.learncpp.com/ is also a good resource. The caveat is that their webserver is dog slow most of the time (which is unfortunate, because they have some really good explanations).

Brent Writes Code
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