C++

The bulk of the rover's logic is written in C++. C++ is widely used in the field of robotics because it is very well-suited to creating high performance applications. However, it's infamous for being a little difficult to learn when compared to other languages like Java and Python. However, don't fear! It's not so difficult to get the basics of the language down, and that will be our goal for this module. You can pick up the fancier stuff as you proceed with your journey on Rover.

Our very own Stephen Verderame '24 has written a C++ textbook that's perfectly well-suited to the purposes of this module. It gives digestable lessons, good examples, and links to further reading if you need some more help understanding some concepts. We will not read the entire textbook; rather, we'll focus on some of the more fundamental and applicable chapters.

Link to the textbook: Excursion Through C++

Your mission is to read and understand the following chapters:

• Basics
• Getting Organized
• Classes and OOP
• Exceptions
• Pointers
• Basic Containers

The following two chapters are optional, but they're highly recommended:

• Move Semantics
• Template Basics

You do not need to read the optional sections to complete the Pathfinder project, but you will need to understand move semantics and templates in order to understand the rover codebase. However, feel free to skip them for now, and we can get back to them later.

Once you're done with this section (which may take a few weeks - we'll set a personalized timeline together), you are finally ready to move on to the ROS Capstone.