Xi Li (李溪)

CS300/500 Advanced Object-Oriented Programming in C++

Course Overview

This course introduces object-oriented programming and modern C++ for building modular and reliable software. Students learn core object-oriented concepts, including classes, inheritance, polymorphism, and operator overloading; generic programming with templates and the Standard Template Library (STL); and safe resource management using RAII, smart pointers, and move semantics. These concepts are applied through the incremental development of a multilayer perceptron (MLP), with hands-on practice in compilation, debugging, testing, and version control.

Course Objectives

Explain and apply core object-oriented programming concepts, including classes, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.
Use dynamic memory management, templates, the STL, and modern C++ features such as smart pointers to build modular, efficient, and reliable programs.
Integrate these concepts to design and implement a Matrix class and a multilayer perceptron (MLP), with practical experience in compilation, debugging, testing, and version control.

Topics

Part I: C++ Basics
- Variables, Functions, and Control Flows
- Operators and Overloading
Part II: C++ Memory and Language Mechanics
- Pointers and References
- Stack vs. Heap Memory, and dynamic memory management
Part III: Object-Oriented Programming in C++
- Constructors and Destructors
- Class Inheritance and Abstract Classes
- Polymorphism and Virtual Functions
Part IV: Templates and STL
- Templates
- STL: Containers, Iterators, and Algorithms
Part V: C++ Engineering
- File I/O and Exceptions
- RAII, Smart Pointers, and Move Semantics
- Implementing Matrices, Tensors, and a MLP

Schedule

Date	Topics	Code Demo	Due
08/25 (T)	Course Introduction	Syllabus	Lab 1
08/27 (Th)	Varialbes, Functions, and Control Flows		Lab 1
09/01 (T)	Operators, and Overloading	Overloading `+` and `<<`	Lab 2
09/03 (Th)	Pointers, References, and`const` Keyword	Pass by Value vs. Reference	Lab 2
09/08 (T)	Array and String	C Strings vs. `std::string`	Lab 3
09/10 (Th)	Stack vs. Heap memory, `new` and `delete`	Linked List	Lab 3
09/15 (T)	Class Basics	Member Operator Overloading	Lab 4
09/17 (Th)	Shallow Copy vs. Deep Copy	Matrix Deep Copy	Lab 4
09/22 (T)	Demo: a Matrix Class	Matrix `+` and `*`	Lab 5
09/24 (Th)	Demo: a MLP Class	Linear/ReLU, Forward Pass	Lab 5
09/29 (T)	Review for Mid-term Exam
10/01 (Th)	Mid-term Exam
10/06 (T)	Class Inheritence		Lab 6
10/08 (Th)	Class Polymorphism		Lab 6
10/13 (T)	Demo: MLP.v2		Lab 7
10/15 (Th)	Templates		Lab 7
10/20 (T)	STL containers		Lab 8
10/22 (Th)	STL containers		Lab 8
10/27 (T)	Demo: MLP.v3		Project 1
10/29 (Th)	Smart Pointer
11/03 (T)	RAII, Move Semantics
11/05 (Th)	Demo: MLP.v4
11/10 (T)	Review for Mid-term Exam
11/12 (Th)	Mid-term Exam 2
11/17 (T)	File I/O and Exceptions
11/19 (Th)	Demo: MLP for Image Classification
11/24 (T)	Thanksgiving Break, No Class		Project 2
11/26 (Th)	Thanksgiving Break, No Class
12/01 (T)	Hands-on Project Development, No Class
12/03 (Th)	Hands-on Project Development, No Class
12/08 (T)	Exam Week, No Class
12/10 (Th)	Exam Week, No Class

Grading Policy

Lab Assignments (20%): There are weekly lab assignments conducted during the scheduled lab sessions. These hands-on coding exercises reinforce concepts introduced in lectures and provide regular practice in programming and problem-solving.
Projects (40%): There will be 2 projects designed to provide hands-on experience with C++ programming, with a particular focus on implementing matrix, tensor, and a simple neural networks. Each project requires a report describing the design, implementation, test, and individual contributions.
Midterm Exams (30%): The course will include 2 midterm exams. The midterm exams are periodic assessments that focus only on the material covered since the previous exam.
Participation (10%): Class participation is assessed primarily through in-class attendance. Students are expected to attend class regularly and participate actively.