Modern C++ Masterclass for Raspberry Pi¶

Welcome to the Modern C++ Masterclass. C++ is a cornerstone of system programming, hardware control, and high-performance computing. When developing on resource-constrained platforms like the Raspberry Pi, writing efficient, modern, and memory-safe C++ is a highly valuable skill.

This comprehensive guide is designed to take you from a complete beginner in C++ to an advanced developer, utilizing the latest C++ standards (C++17, C++20, and C++23).

Why Learn Modern C++?¶

C++ has evolved dramatically since its early days (classic C++98). Modern C++ (C++11 and onwards) focuses on: - Memory Safety: Moving away from raw pointers and manual memory management (new/delete) to value semantics and smart pointers. - Developer Expressiveness: Using type inference (auto), lambda expressions, and robust standard library utilities to write cleaner, more readable code. - Zero-Overhead Abstractions: Coding at a high level of abstraction without sacrificing performance or control over hardware.

Course Roadmap¶

The curriculum is structured into four sequential parts, building your knowledge from syntax foundations up to advanced features.

Part 1: Foundations ¶

Master the core language construct and compile-time mechanics. - Introduction & Environment Setup — Compiler installation on Raspberry Pi, understanding compilation phases, and building your first program. - Basic Syntax — Variables, types, const vs constexpr, type inference, and bindings. - Control Flow — Conditional structures, loops, and modern flow control improvements. - Functions — Parameters, call-by-value vs call-by-reference, function overloading, and lambdas. - Operators — Standard operators and C++20 three-way comparison (<=>). - Pointers and References — Navigating address spaces, reference semantics, and how pointer arithmetic maps to hardware.

Part 2: Memory & Object-Oriented Programming ¶

Understand how objects interact and how memory is allocated and freed. - Memory Management — Deep dive into Stack vs Heap, Resource Acquisition Is Initialization (RAII), and modern smart pointers (std::unique_ptr, std::shared_ptr). - Classes and Objects — Encapsulation, constructors/destructors, member initialization lists, and class design. - Inheritance — Polymorphism, virtual functions, vtables, and memory layout of derived classes. - Operator Overloading — Defining custom behavior for operators and implementing the Copy-and-Swap idiom.

Part 3: The Standard Library (STL)¶

Leverage robust, pre-built utilities and design generic, reusable systems. - Templates — Introduction to generic programming, template specialization, and compile-time logic. - Containers — Vectors, lists, maps, and unordered maps, along with their time complexities and layout semantics. - Algorithms — Built-in sorting, searching, mapping, and an introduction to ranges.

Part 4: Modern Evolution ¶

Keep up with the modern features that make C++ one of the most powerful languages today. - Modern Utilities — std::optional, std::variant, std::string_view, and std::span for clean, safe code. - C++20 Features — Concepts, Ranges, Coroutines, and formatting upgrades. - C++23 Features — std::print, std::expected, and multidimensional subscripts. - Build Systems — Makefiles and modern target-based CMake project architecture.