C++ Has Changed. Has Your Code? Compact course: C++ Has Changed. Has Your Code?

• Date: 16.03.2027
• Time: 9:00am - 1pm
• Instructor: Dr. Thomas Isensee, Research Software Engineer, Scientific Software Center
• Location: Mathematikon Bauteil A, Im Neuenheimer Feld 205, in the conference room 5/104 on the 5th floor

This is a half day course.

This course is aimed at people who write C++, particularly for scientific applications, and want to make their code safer and easier to maintain. Basic familiarity with C++ is expected, but prior knowledge of modern C++ features is not required. Please bring a laptop for the short practical exercises. Network access (e.g. through Eduroam) is recommended.

C++ has changed considerably, and many scientific codes haven’t kept up. This course introduces practical modern C++ techniques that help you spend less time debugging and make your code easier to maintain. You’ll learn how object lifetime and clear ownership simplify resource management, and how expressive types help the compiler catch mistakes before your code runs. We’ll explore useful containers, modern language features, and standard library tools with examples drawn from scientific programming. Comparisons of older and modern approaches will show what to improve and why, while short exercises give you a chance to apply the ideas. We’ll also discuss choosing a suitable C++ standard for your project and briefly introduce modern CMake.

After the course participants will be able to

• Choose a suitable minimum C++ standard for their project.
• Use object lifetime and clear ownership to manage memory resources automatically.
• Choose appropriate containers and views, such as std::vector, std::array, and std::span.
• Simplify existing code by using modern language features and standard library tools.

There is an instance of this course scheduled: Signup for the next scheduled course