Avoiding Implicit Bugs in C++

Course details

C++ is an extremely powerful, portable, and cost-effective programming language. But it's also rife with implicit and counter-intuitive semantics, which can introduce bugs into your program. In this course, join instructor Shachar Shemesh to learn the fundamental skills you need to know as a developer to avoid implicit bugs in C++.

Explore real-world bug-causing behaviors such as automatically generated copy constructors and copy assignment operators, cast chains with both built-in and user-defined casts, undefined behaviors, exception semantics, and destructors. Along the way, Shachar raises your overall awareness of best practices for identifying, avoiding, strategizing, controlling, and protecting your work from implicit bugs.

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Implicit bugs in C++
02 - Course structure

1. Implicit Copying

03 - The FD class
04 - You have a bug
05 - Locating the bug
06 - Exploring the implicit copy constructor
07 - Implementing implicit copy
08 - Disabling implicit copying
09 - Move semantics
10 - Assignment operators and copy-and-swap

2. Implicit Casts

11 - Problem 1 - Only prints once
12 - Constructors as implicit casts
13 - The explicit keyword
14 - Problem 2 - Corrupt file descriptor
15 - Explicit for casts

3. Undefined Behavior

16 - Parameters order evaluation
17 - Implementation of defined, unspecified, and undefined behavior
18 - Null pointer dereference
19 - Deconstructing null pointer example
20 - Why UBs are a good thing (or not)

4. Exceptions and Destructors

21 - The danger of a destructor throwing
22 - Potential solutions

Conclusion

23 - Philosophy of defensive class

Avoiding Implicit Bugs in C++

Authors

Shachar Shemesh