C/C++ 2000: GNU For Intermediate Students

Set up the GNU C/C++ study environment on Windows with cygwin, download and extract study 1000, and explore generations of C++ using stdio.h, C standard IO, and iostream with namespaces.

Review the GNU toolchain from the command line through preprocessor, compiler, and linker stages, and learn how symbols and debugging with gdb fit into building portable C/C++ code.

Use g++ -g to include symbols, then debug by disassembling main and inspecting stack parameters and printf calls, while exploring name mangling and demangling.

Explore exception management in C++ using try, catch, and throw to handle errors, prevent crashes, and take corrective actions when operations fail.

Explore how to implement finite state machines with function pointers and arrays in C++, using shared signatures, enums, and simple structures to manage states and transitions.

Review primitive data types and register sizes. Explain how strings are null-terminated character arrays and explore memory representation, plus a dumper program that prints values with format specifiers.

Explore integer data type sizes across architectures, and learn about l value and r value, modulus and other operators in C and C++.

Explore string and array activity: how name mangling forces const char* in puts, why non-const pointers trigger warnings or compile errors, and how C++98/03 differ from C++11/14 in legacy code.

Examine how a C++ struct mirrors a class, with default public visibility, and how a function pointer inside a struct can yield a class while wrapping legacy C types.