How to Read a Complex C++ Expression

C++ is full of little symbols, each of which adds to the meaning of expressions. The rules of C++ grammar are so flexible that these symbols can be combined in almost impenetrably complex combinations. [more…]

Working with Functions in C++

Developers often need the ability to break programs up into smaller chunks that are easier to develop. "Real world" programs can be many of thousands (or millions!) of lines long. Without this ability [more…]

Avoiding Pointer Problems in C++

In C++, a pointer is a variable that contains the address of another variable in the computer's internal memory. Use these steps to avoid problems with pointers in C++: [more…]

How and When to Make Deep Copies in C++

Classes that allocate resources in their constructor should normally include a copy constructor to create copies of these resources. Allocating a new block of memory and copying the contents of the original [more…]

Avoiding Bugs in Your C++ Program

Don't start debugging your code until you remove or at least understand all the warnings generated during compilation. Enabling all the warning messages if you then ignore them does you no good. If you [more…]

An Introduction to C++

The C++ programming language consists of a vocabulary of commands that humans can understand and that can be converted into machine language fairly easily and a language structure [more…]

Operators in C++ Programming

All operators in C++ perform some defined function. This table shows the operator, precedence (which determines who goes first), cardinality, and associativity in the C++ program. [more…]

Expressing Binary Numbers in C++

C++ variables are stored internally as so-called binary numbers. Binary numbers are stored as a sequence of 1 and 0 values known as bits. Most of the time, you don't really need to deal with numbers at [more…]

Expressions and Declarations in C++ Programming

To perform a calculation in the C=++ program you need and expression. An expression is a statement that has both a value and a type. In the C++ program, a declaration is statement that defines a variable [more…]

C++ for Dummies Cheat Sheet

Understanding and running C++ programming, which is the standard for object-oriented languages, is easier when you know the expressions, declarations, and operators to perform calculations. [more…]

Beginning Programming with C++ For Dummies Cheat Sheet

C++ is not an easy language to master. Only through experience will the myriad combinations of symbols start to seem natural to you. However, this Cheat Sheet can give you a few hints to help ease that [more…]

Understanding C#'s "If" Statement

The basis of all C# decision-making capability is the ifstatement, as follows:

if (bool-expression)
{
// Control goes here if the expression is true.
}
// Control passes to this statement whether the expression [more…]

Controlling Program Flow in C# 2008

C#, like most programming languages, can make decisions. You can create a C# program that reads your data and automatically performs the tasks you need. Depending on the attributes of the information it's [more…]

Creating the Source Program for Your First C# Console Application

Visual Studio 2008 includes an Application Wizard that builds template programs and saves you a lot of the dirty work you'd have to do if you did everything from scratch. [more…]

Operators in C# 2008

In order to perform operations in C# 2008, you need, well…operators. The following chart shows you these operators. These symbols determine which operations to carry out in an expression: [more…]

C# 2008 Integer Variable Types

Each variable has a fixed type in C#, and integer (int) variable types are limited to whole numbers. C# has several other integer variable types, shown in this chart: [more…]

Getting a Handle on Computer Languages, C#, and .NET

Unfortunately, computers don't understand human language, they have their own languages. But programmers can create programs in a "middle ground" language that is not nearly as free as human speech but [more…]

Examining the C# "Else" Statement

Some code must check for mutually exclusive conditions. For example, the following code segment stores the maximum of two numbers, a and b, in the variable [more…]

C# 2008 Floating Point Variable Types

C# distinguishes real numbers, which come in two styles: floating point and decimal. Floating point is the most common and floating-point variables are assigned. This chart describes the two floating-point [more…]

C# 2008 For Dummies Cheat Sheet

C# 2008 is an awesome programming language. Discover the operators you need to perform your functions and how to declare and use variables like integers, floating points, and others. Also take a look at [more…]

Configuring C#

A whole namespace of classes is designed to configure applications written in any .NET language, such as C#, VB.NET, or any one of several others. The objects within it are, to say the least, a bit tough [more…]

Keeping Stuff in C# Collection Classes

Many variables are for storing one thing, like a number or a sentence. An object can have a lot of properties, storing a lot of information about a single concept. Sometimes, though, you just have to keep [more…]

Other C# Variable Types

It’s not always easy to sort out C#’s variables. The following table offers a comparison of all C# variable types except integer and floating point, which are covered elsewhere. [more…]

C# Integer Variable Types

C# integer variables come in a variety of types and ranges. The following table sorts out the C# integer variables so you’ll always know the range and size of each. [more…]