C++ Demystified(c) A Self-Teaching Guide

I knew the student well from other classes he had taken with me, so I knew his future plans, which were relevant to the answer I gave him. However, I dont know yours. Therefore, I need to ask you, or perhaps you need to ask yourself, which of the following best describes why you are reading this book:

• I am reading this book to help me with a course I am taking as part of my plan to obtain a degree.

• I am reading this book to help me upgrade my skills for my current job or to retrain for a new job.

• I am reading this book because programming is my hobby.

• I am reading this book because I have nothing better to do.

If you chose the last statement, then you may need to get out more often. Otherwise, whether your primary reason for reading this book is higher education, a job, or a hobby will, of course, influence your next steps in programming. For example, if you are retraining for a particular programming position, your focus will be much more specific than a student who is planning to obtain a higher degree in computer science.

Nevertheless, regardless of whether your focus is specific or general, the major area that follows the subjects covered in this book is Object-Oriented Programming, often known by its acronym OOP. OOP (described in the following section) heavily uses two programming concepts: structures and classes. Therefore, this chapter, and book, concludes by covering these two concepts.