COMP345 Fall 2020 Final written examination coverage

• Notes:
  • The following is the list of topics that are included in the final written examination.
  • In general, you are responsible for all the material presented in slide set 0 to 11, along with the lab examples pertaining to them (i.e. lab 1 to lab 11)
  • Some specific topics will not be part of the examination. These are denoted with an (X) below.

• Slide Set 0
  • none

• Slide Set 1: introduction
  • program structure
  • compilation unit
  • header/cpp files
  • includes
  • redundant includes
  • namespaces

• Slide Set 2: preliminary topics
  • structs and classes as data types
  • variable initialization
  • implicit/explicit type coercion
    • static_cast, dynamic_cast
    • upcasting/downcasting
  • conversion sequences
  • pointers
  • pointer artithmetic
  • pointers and const
  • void/wild/dangling/null pointers
    • stack/heap/new/delete
    • arithmetics
  • references
  • smart pointers
  • parameter passing
  • strings

• Slide Set 3: input/output
  • input/output streams
  • cin/cout
  • files stream declarations, open/close, usage
  • << and >> operator overloading
  • MFC serialization (X)

• Slide Set 4: classes
  • classes vs. structs
  • struct usage
  • class declarations (.h and .cpp files)
  • declaring/using objects
    • with or without pointers
  • inline functions/methods
  • const specifier
  • static specifier
  • friends
  • constructors/destructors
    • declaration/implementation
    • initialization list
    • implicit/explicit constructor calls
    • call chain
  • inheritance
    • overriding/overloading
    • vs. constructor/destructor implementation
    • assignment operator
    • copy constructor
    • shallow/deep copy
  • multiple inheritance
  • virtual inheritance
  • diamond problem

• Slide Set 5: C/C++ arrays and dynamic arrays, containers
  • statically allocated arrays (one or multidimensional)
    • declaration, usage
    • memory allocation model
    • passing as parameters
  • dynamically allocated arrays (one-dimensional)
    • declaration, usage
    • memory allocation model
    • passing as parameters
  • array decay into a pointer
  • static array classes
  • STL containers
    • declaration, usage
    • iterators

• Slide Set 6: MVC and observer
  • MVC design (roles of Model, View Controller components)
  • Role of Observer pattern
  • MVC example in lab

• Slide Set 7: polymorphism
  • Polymorphism: concept vs Object-oriented programming and its implementation in C++
  • Virtual methods
  • Pure virtual methods
  • Abstract classes
  • Virtual destructors
  • vs. Java interfaces
  • Value semantics and object slicing
  • Reference semantics and polymorphism
  • Function pointers
  • Virtual function tables

• Slide Set 8: design patterns
  • Design patterns: concepts
  • Observer: design and C++ implementation
  • Strategy: design and C++ implementation
  • Adapter: design and C++ implementation

• Slide Set 9: operator overloading
  • operators as members or free operators
  • friend operators
  • limitations
  • use of const in operator declarations
  • assignment operator: self-assignment check, memory leak prevention
  • specific operators: new, delete, [], etc as presented in the slides

• Slide Set 10: exception handling
  • concepts
  • try/throw/catch mechanism
  • exception handling mechanism vs regular execution mechanism
  • stack unwinding
  • exception specification
  • standard exceptions (X)
  • custom exception classes
  • overhead of using exceptions

• Slide Set 11: templates
  • concepts: metaprogramming
  • template processor vs compilation process
  • function templates, operator templates, class templates
  • smart pointers example
  • explicit template specialization
  • class templates vs static members
  • templates vs compilation units in the compilation process (.h/.cpp files)
  • templates vs Java Generics