“Stop Teaching C"
summary
Argument: stop starting C++ courses with C details and instead teach strings and vector from day one so beginners use the Standard Library, learn RAII and scope, and avoid buffer/printf/array pitfalls. Introduce polymorphism with references (no pointer punctuation), then delay raw pointers until smart pointers and use algorithms with lambdas to express intent. A one‑day intro built this sequence and covers const, exceptions, lambdas and deterministic destruction, and students both understand polymorphism faster and enjoy the course more.
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chapters (12)
- 0:00Intro
- 0:41Preaching to the choir?
- 4:02What makes C++ C++?
- 12:15Instead: Use the debugger
- 19:06An aside about using namespace
- 22:00Example: lambdas
- 25:39Polymorphism
- 27:21How do you demo this?
- 29:18When to introduce const?
- 32:04What about scope?
- 44:12What will you have skipped?
- 50:30What might happen?
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