Complete C++ Programming Masterclass for Teens

📚 Topics Covered

• Why C++? The language behind every major game
• C++ history: From 1979 to modern gaming
• Setting up your development environment
• Installing Visual Studio/VS Code/CLion
• Compilers: GCC, Clang, MSVC explained
• Your first C++ program: Hello, World!
• Understanding #include and using namespace
• The main() function: Where programs start
• Compilation process: From code to executable
• cout and cin: Output and input

• Comments: Single-line and multi-line
• Common errors and how to fix them

📚 Topics Covered

• Variables: Storing game scores and player data
• Data types: int, float, double, char, bool
• Declaring and initializing variables
• Constants with const and #define
• Type casting: Converting between types
• Arithmetic operators: +, -, *, /, %
• Compound operators: +=, -=, *=, /=
• Increment/decrement: ++ and --
• Math library functions: sqrt, pow, abs
• Random numbers for games

• String basics: Working with text
• Character manipulation

📚 Topics Covered

• If statements: Making decisions in code
• Else and else-if chains
• Comparison operators: ==, !=, <, >, <=, >=
• Logical operators: &&, ||, !
• Switch statements: Multiple choice menus
• Ternary operator: Compact conditions
• Nested conditions: Complex decisions
• Game logic with conditions
• Input validation techniques
• Menu-driven programs

• State machines basics
• Debugging conditional logic

📚 Topics Covered

• For loops: Repeating code efficiently
• While loops: Conditional repetition
• Do-while loops: Guaranteed execution
• Nested loops: 2D patterns and grids
• Break and continue statements
• Infinite loops and game loops
• Loop optimization techniques
• Pattern printing: Stars, pyramids, diamonds
• Number sequences: Fibonacci, primes
• ASCII art with loops

• Animation basics with loops
• Common loop patterns

📚 Topics Covered

• Functions: Building blocks of programs
• Function declaration and definition
• Parameters and arguments
• Return values and void functions
• Pass by value vs pass by reference
• Function overloading: Same name, different parameters
• Default parameters
• Inline functions for performance
• Recursive functions: Functions calling themselves
• Function prototypes

• Scope and lifetime of variables
• Creating game utility functions

📚 Topics Covered

• Arrays: Storing multiple values
• Declaring and initializing arrays
• Accessing array elements
• Array bounds and safety
• Multi-dimensional arrays: Game boards
• Character arrays and C-strings
• String manipulation functions
• Array algorithms: Search and sort
• Passing arrays to functions
• Dynamic memory preview

• Common array problems
• Game inventory systems

📚 Topics Covered

• Pointers: The power of C++
• Memory addresses and the & operator
• Pointer declaration and dereferencing
• Null pointers and safety
• Pointer arithmetic
• Arrays and pointers relationship
• References: Safer than pointers
• Const pointers and references
• Function pointers basics
• Common pointer mistakes

• Memory visualization
• Why games need pointers

📚 Topics Covered

• Stack vs Heap memory
• Dynamic memory with new and delete
• Dynamic arrays
• Memory leaks and how to avoid them
• Delete vs delete[]
• Smart pointers preview
• RAII principle basics
• Common memory errors
• Debugging memory issues
• Valgrind and sanitizers

• Memory-efficient programming
• Game memory management

📚 Topics Covered

• Introduction to OOP
• Classes and objects
• Member variables and functions
• Access specifiers: public, private, protected
• Constructors and destructors
• This pointer
• Const member functions
• Static members
• Friend functions and classes
• Operator overloading basics

• Class design principles
• UML diagrams basics

📚 Topics Covered

• Structures: Grouping related data
• Struct declaration and initialization
• Accessing struct members
• Nested structures
• Arrays of structures
• Structures and functions
• Structures vs classes
• Enumerations for named constants
• Enum classes (scoped enums)
• Typedef and using aliases

• Unions for memory efficiency
• Bit fields for flags

📚 Topics Covered

• File streams: ifstream, ofstream, fstream
• Opening and closing files
• Reading from text files
• Writing to text files
• File error handling
• Binary file I/O
• File positioning and seeking
• CSV file processing
• JSON parsing basics
• Save game systems

• Configuration files
• Log file creation

📚 Topics Covered

• Types of errors: Compile, runtime, logic
• Exception handling: try, catch, throw
• Standard exceptions
• Custom exception classes
• Exception safety guarantees
• Assert statements
• Error codes vs exceptions
• Debugging with GDB/LLDB
• Visual Studio debugger
• Breakpoints and watchpoints

• Stack traces and core dumps
• Logging and diagnostics

📚 Topics Covered

• Introduction to STL
• Vectors: Dynamic arrays made easy
• Vector operations and methods
• Strings: Modern C++ strings
• String manipulation methods
• Iterators basics
• Range-based for loops
• Algorithm library preview
• Sort and search algorithms
• STL vs raw arrays

• When to use STL
• Performance considerations

📚 Topics Covered

• Project planning and design
• Code organization
• Documentation
• Testing strategies
• Version control with Git
• Code review preparation

📚 Topics Covered

• Inheritance: Creating class hierarchies
• Base and derived classes
• Protected access specifier
• Types of inheritance: public, private, protected
• Constructor and destructor in inheritance
• Function overriding
• Virtual functions and late binding
• Pure virtual functions
• Abstract classes and interfaces
• Multiple inheritance

• Diamond problem and virtual inheritance
• Polymorphism in game development

📚 Topics Covered

• Copy constructor deep dive
• Assignment operator overloading
• Rule of Three/Five/Zero
• Move semantics and rvalue references
• Move constructor and assignment
• Perfect forwarding
• Operator overloading complete guide
• Friend functions and operators
• Conversion operators
• Functors (function objects)

• Nested classes
• Anonymous classes

📚 Topics Covered

• Function templates: Generic functions
• Class templates: Generic classes
• Template parameters
• Template specialization
• Partial specialization
• Variadic templates basics
• Template metaprogramming intro
• SFINAE principle
• Type traits
• Concepts (C++20)

• STL container implementation
• Template best practices

📚 Topics Covered

• What are design patterns?
• Singleton pattern: One instance only
• Factory pattern: Object creation
• Observer pattern: Event systems
• Strategy pattern: Swappable algorithms
• Command pattern: Undo/redo
• State pattern: Game states
• Component pattern: Game objects
• Prototype pattern: Cloning
• Adapter pattern: Interface compatibility

• MVC pattern basics
• Anti-patterns to avoid

📚 Topics Covered

• Problems with raw pointers
• unique_ptr: Exclusive ownership
• shared_ptr: Shared ownership
• weak_ptr: Breaking cycles
• make_unique and make_shared
• Custom deleters
• RAII in practice
• Auto keyword and type inference
• Range-based loops
• Lambda expressions

• std::function and std::bind
• Modern C++ best practices

📚 Topics Covered

• Linked lists: Single, double, circular
• Implementing linked list operations
• Stacks: LIFO principle
• Stack applications: Undo, parsing
• Queues: FIFO principle
• Circular queues and deques
• Priority queues
• Implementing with arrays vs nodes
• STL containers: list, stack, queue
• Time complexity analysis

• Space complexity
• Real-world applications

📚 Topics Covered

• Binary trees: Structure and properties
• Tree traversals: Inorder, preorder, postorder
• Binary search trees (BST)
• BST operations: Insert, delete, search
• Balanced trees: AVL basics
• Heaps and priority queues
• Graphs: Representation methods
• Graph traversals: DFS and BFS
• Shortest path algorithms preview
• Tree applications in games

• Scene graphs in game engines
• Decision trees for AI

📚 Topics Covered

• Hash tables: Fast lookups
• Hash functions design
• Collision resolution: Chaining vs open addressing
• Load factors and resizing
• Implementing hash map
• Sets and multisets
• Ordered vs unordered containers
• STL: unordered_map, unordered_set
• map and set (tree-based)
• Custom hash functions

• Applications in game development
• Caching and memoization

📚 Topics Covered

• Linear search vs binary search
• Binary search implementation
• Bubble sort: Simple but slow
• Selection sort and insertion sort
• Merge sort: Divide and conquer
• Quick sort: Fast average case
• Heap sort with heaps
• Counting sort and radix sort
• STL sorting algorithms
• Custom comparators

• Sorting visualization
• Algorithm complexity analysis

📚 Topics Covered

• Recursion mastery
• Backtracking algorithms
• Dynamic programming basics
• Greedy algorithms
• Divide and conquer
• Graph algorithms: Dijkstra, A*
• String algorithms basics
• Pattern matching
• Bit manipulation tricks
• Algorithm optimization

• Competitive programming intro
• Problem-solving strategies

📚 Topics Covered

• Vector internals and performance
• Deque: Double-ended queue
• List vs vector performance
• Set and map internals (red-black trees)
• Unordered containers performance
• Container adaptors
• Custom allocators
• Iterator categories
• Iterator adaptors
• Reverse iterators

• Container selection guide
• Performance benchmarking

📚 Topics Covered

• Algorithm library overview
• Non-modifying algorithms
• Modifying algorithms
• Sorting and searching
• Numeric algorithms
• Lambda expressions mastery
• Function objects and adaptors
• std::function and std::bind
• Functional programming in C++
• Ranges (C++20)

• Parallel algorithms
• Custom algorithms

📚 Topics Covered

• Why multithreading matters
• Creating threads with std::thread
• Joining and detaching threads
• Passing arguments to threads
• Thread synchronization problems
• Mutexes and locks
• Condition variables
• Atomic operations
• Thread-safe data structures
• Producer-consumer pattern

• Thread pools basics
• Multithreading in games

📚 Topics Covered

• Stack vs heap deep dive
• Memory layout of programs
• Custom memory allocators
• Pool allocators
• Stack allocators
• Memory debugging tools
• Profiling memory usage
• Cache optimization
• Data-oriented design
• Memory-mapped files

• Shared memory
• Memory in game engines

📚 Topics Covered

• Large project planning
• Architecture design
• Code organization
• Documentation
• Testing strategies
• Performance optimization

📚 Topics Covered

• Introduction to SFML
• Setting up SFML project
• Creating windows
• Basic shapes and colors
• Sprites and textures
• Text rendering
• Handling events: Keyboard, mouse
• Game loop implementation
• Frame rate and delta time
• 2D transformations

• View and camera
• Sound and music

📚 Topics Covered

• Sprite animation
• Sprite sheets and atlases
• Tile maps and level design
• Collision detection: AABB, circles
• Physics basics: Velocity, acceleration
• Particle effects
• Shaders introduction
• Post-processing effects
• UI systems for games
• Scene management

• Resource management
• Game state machines

📚 Topics Covered

• 3D graphics fundamentals
• OpenGL and GLFW setup
• OpenGL rendering pipeline
• Vertices and triangles
• Vertex buffers and arrays
• Shaders: Vertex and fragment
• GLSL basics
• Matrices and transformations
• 3D coordinate systems
• Camera and projection

• Texturing 3D objects
• Lighting basics

📚 Topics Covered

• Physics in games
• Vectors and math for physics
• Rigid body dynamics
• Collision detection algorithms
• Collision response
• Gravity and forces
• Springs and constraints
• Particle physics
• Integrating physics engines
• Box2D for 2D physics

• Bullet Physics basics
• Optimization techniques

📚 Topics Covered

• Digital audio basics
• Audio file formats
• Playing sounds with SFML
• 3D spatial audio
• Audio mixing and effects
• Real-time audio synthesis
• MIDI basics
• OpenAL introduction
• Audio in game engines
• Music synchronization

• Audio optimization
• Creating sound effects

📚 Topics Covered

• System calls and OS APIs
• Process creation and management
• Inter-process communication
• Pipes and message queues
• Shared memory
• Signals and handlers
• File system operations
• Directory traversal
• File permissions
• Memory-mapped I/O

• System information
• Performance monitoring

📚 Topics Covered

• Network fundamentals
• TCP/IP basics
• Sockets programming
• Client-server architecture
• TCP server and client
• UDP communication
• Non-blocking I/O
• Select and poll
• HTTP protocol basics
• Building web servers

• Multiplayer game networking
• Network security basics

📚 Topics Covered

• Database basics
• SQL fundamentals
• SQLite integration
• C++ database APIs
• Prepared statements
• Transaction management
• Database design for games
• Save game systems
• Leaderboard databases
• Configuration storage

• Data serialization
• JSON and XML parsing

📚 Topics Covered

• Embedded systems basics
• Arduino and C++
• Digital I/O
• Analog input
• PWM and servos
• Sensors and actuators
• Serial communication
• I2C and SPI
• Interrupts and timers
• Power management

• Real-time constraints
• IoT basics

📚 Topics Covered

• Combining graphics and networking
• Client-server game architecture
• Game engine architecture
• Plugin systems
• Scripting integration
• Performance profiling
• Release builds
• Distribution and packaging

📚 Topics Covered

• Game engine components
• Entity-component systems
• Scene graphs
• Resource managers
• Input systems
• Physics integration
• Rendering systems
• Audio systems
• Scripting languages
• Level editors

• Asset pipelines
• Engine optimization

📚 Topics Covered

• Game AI fundamentals
• Finite state machines
• Behavior trees
• Pathfinding: A* algorithm
• Navigation meshes
• Steering behaviors
• Decision making
• Minimax for board games
• Neural networks basics
• Genetic algorithms

• Procedural generation
• AI debugging

📚 Topics Covered

• Profiling tools
• CPU optimization
• Memory optimization
• Cache optimization
• SIMD instructions
• Multithreading for games
• GPU optimization
• Asset optimization
• Load time optimization
• Mobile optimization

• Console optimization
• Benchmarking

📚 Topics Covered

• C++17 features
• C++20 features
• Structured bindings
• std::optional and std::variant
• std::filesystem
• Coroutines basics
• Modules introduction
• Concepts deep dive
• Ranges library
• Format library

• Three-way comparison
• Future C++ features

📚 Topics Covered

• Large game project planning
• Technical design document
• Art and asset planning
• Milestone scheduling
• Team collaboration
• Version control with Git

📚 Topics Covered

• Introduction to competitive programming
• Online judges: Codeforces, AtCoder, CodeChef
• USACO preparation
• Reading problem statements
• Input/output optimization
• Time complexity mastery
• Space complexity optimization
• Common patterns
• Debugging strategies
• Contest strategies

• Speed coding techniques
• Template preparation

📚 Topics Covered

• DP fundamentals
• Memoization vs tabulation
• 1D DP problems
• 2D DP problems
• State space reduction
• Classic problems: Knapsack, LCS, LIS
• Coin change and variants
• Path counting problems
• Interval DP
• Tree DP

• Digit DP
• Optimization techniques

📚 Topics Covered

• Graph representations
• DFS and BFS applications
• Shortest paths: Dijkstra, Bellman-Ford, Floyd-Warshall
• Minimum spanning trees: Kruskal, Prim
• Topological sorting
• Strongly connected components
• Bridges and articulation points
• Bipartite matching
• Network flow basics
• Tree algorithms

• LCA and tree queries
• Graph coloring

📚 Topics Covered

• Segment trees
• Fenwick trees (BIT)
• Sparse tables
• Disjoint set union (DSU)
• Trie data structure
• Suffix arrays
• Heavy-light decomposition
• Persistent data structures
• Treaps and splay trees
• Link-cut trees basics

• Square root decomposition
• Mo's algorithm

📚 Topics Covered

• Number theory basics
• Prime numbers and sieve
• GCD and LCM
• Modular arithmetic
• Fast exponentiation
• Combinatorics
• Probability basics
• Game theory
• Geometry algorithms
• Convex hull

• Line intersection
• FFT basics

📚 Topics Covered

• String matching: KMP, Rabin-Karp
• Z-algorithm
• Suffix arrays and LCP
• Suffix trees basics
• Aho-Corasick algorithm
• Manacher's algorithm
• String hashing
• Palindrome problems
• Edit distance
• Regular expressions

• Parsing algorithms
• Compression basics

📚 Topics Covered

• 2D geometry basics
• Points, lines, segments
• Polygon algorithms
• Convex hull algorithms
• Line sweep technique
• Closest pair of points
• Voronoi diagrams basics
• Delaunay triangulation
• 3D geometry basics
• Geometric data structures

• Collision detection
• Visualization techniques

📚 Topics Covered

• ML basics in C++
• Linear regression
• Logistic regression
• Neural networks from scratch
• Backpropagation implementation
• Decision trees
• K-means clustering
• OpenCV basics
• Image processing
• Computer vision basics

• Integration with Python
• Performance optimization

📚 Topics Covered

• Cryptography fundamentals
• Caesar cipher and variants
• XOR encryption
• Hash functions
• SHA implementation
• Public key concepts
• RSA basics
• Digital signatures
• Random number generation
• Secure coding practices

• Common vulnerabilities
• CTF challenges

📚 Topics Covered

• Compilers overview
• Lexical analysis
• Tokenization
• Parsing basics
• Abstract syntax trees
• Semantic analysis
• Code generation basics
• Interpreters vs compilers
• Simple language design
• VM implementation

• Optimization basics
• Error handling

📚 Topics Covered

• Portfolio strategy
• Project selection
• Code documentation
• README writing
• GitHub profile optimization
• Project presentation
• Demo videos
• Technical writing
• Blog creation
• Online presence

• Personal branding
• Networking strategies

📚 Topics Covered

• Technical interview process
• Data structures review
• Algorithm review
• Coding interview patterns
• System design basics
• Behavioral questions
• STAR method
• Mock interviews
• Whiteboard coding
• Online assessments

• Company research
• Salary negotiation

📚 Topics Covered

• Open source importance
• Finding projects
• Understanding large codebases
• Making contributions
• Pull request best practices
• Code review participation
• Issue tracking
• Documentation contributions
• Creating open source projects
• Building community

• Licensing
• Maintaining projects

📚 Topics Covered

• Capstone project planning
• Requirements analysis
• System architecture
• Implementation strategy
• Testing plan
• Documentation plan
• Deployment strategy
• Marketing strategy

📚 Topics Covered

• Feature completion
• Testing and debugging
• Performance optimization
• Documentation finalization
• Deployment preparation
• Release planning
• Marketing materials
• Demo preparation
• Presentation skills
• Q&A preparation

• Feedback incorporation
• Final polishing

📚 Topics Covered

• Job search strategies
• Internship applications
• College applications with portfolio
• Freelancing opportunities
• Resume optimization
• LinkedIn profile
• Cover letters
• Follow-up strategies
• First job preparation
• Continuous learning

• Career planning
• Goal setting

📚 Topics Covered

• Course completion
• Final presentations
• Peer showcases
• Industry feedback
• Certification ceremony
• Alumni network
• Future resources
• Mentorship continuation
• Community involvement
• Success stories

• Next steps
• Lifelong learning