Learn C++ Review - Ongoing

For a while now, I’ve wanted to learn C++. I have some experience with C and have been looking to expand into C++ since my real interests lie in embedded software design and lower-level languages.

Earlier last year, I took a brief course by Stephen Ulibarri called Learn C++ for Game Development as a bit of a tester. While I’m not particularly interested in game development as a career, someone online recommended it as a quick introduction to the language.

I went through the course, and while it gave a decent overview, I didn’t come away with much real understanding. Some of this was due to the format—I’ve realised that videos aren’t the best way for me to learn a programming language. Additionally, there weren’t many practice problems, so I didn’t get much reinforcement.

After finishing that course, I looked into other people’s recommendations again. This time, I settled on the website Learn C++. It’s free, widely recommended, and packed with content, so I figured—why not?

At first, the index page was a bit daunting, with all the categories and topics. C++ has a reputation for being one of the harder languages to learn, and at the time, I was relatively new to it. Most of my experience had been in Python and frontend languages like JavaScript, CSS, etc.

Still, Alex, the writer of the site, eases you in gradually. If you’re new to programming, it’s not too bad. Since I had already completed most of Harvard’s CS50X, finished CS50P, and taken a Python course from GATech, I found the starting chapters pretty easy.

Alex has a great way of explaining topics, and he loads each lesson with plenty of examples. Most pages also include a few questions to reinforce what you’ve just learnt. At the end of each chapter, there’s a summary and quiz that covers everything in that section. The quizzes start off simple but get more challenging around Chapter 4 or 5.

Right now, I’m at around Chapter 15, and I think I’ve decided—this is the best course/book I’ve done so far. It’s honestly amazing that you can get this level of information and explanation for free. Sure, there’s no fancy certificate at the end, but if you want to learn C++, I really think this is the best resource. I’ve tried a few books and done some light extra reading, but nothing else comes close to Learn C++.

The hardest part to wrap my head around initially was the constexpr sections, but after reading through them again and working on some problems, I’m starting to get a better grasp of the concept.

My only real complaint so far is that there aren’t enough practice problems on the individual topic pages. While there are some, I wish there were more to really reinforce the material. However, I’ve found that pasting sections of a page or an example problem into ChatGPT, Claude, etc., and asking them to generate questions or practice problems based on the content has been quite helpful. I keep these requests simple and similar to what’s on Learn C++ so I can quickly tell if the AI is making things up.

As I go through more of Learn C++, I’ll continue updating this article. I’ve slowed my progress to one or two pages a day since I now feel comfortable enough to start working on projects, which I think will help reinforce what I’ve learnt.

Overall, this is a fantastic course—but be warned: while it starts off relatively simple, you’ll soon realise just how big and complex C++ is compared to something like Python or even native C.