Department of Engineering

IA Computing Help

The Michaelmas Term Programming Exercise

• Read the 1AComputing Michaelmas coursework pages (if you want a print-out you could try printing the PDF version using acroread's booklet option).
• Read the Mich term introductory slides
• Tutorial Guide to C++ Programming (HTML)

The Lent Term Programming Exercise

• Read the 1AComputing Lent coursework pages (if you want a print-out you could try printing the PDF version using acroread's booklet option).
• Read the Lent term introductory slides
• See how your trading strategy faces up to the competition! View the real-time league tables of closing balances

Mars Lander

For more information about this summer vacation project see the Mars Lander page in CamTools

The Compiler

• The graphical interface to the C++ compiler that we use is Geany ( on the desktop) though we have several other Integrated Development Environments installed.
• The compiler is called g++. If you want to know about the compiler itself (but not the C++ language) read the g++ documentation.

Tutorial Guide to C++ Programming

• On-line version of the Part IA Computing Course Tutorial Guide
• animation of SimpleAdder.cc from the Tutorial Guide

C++ Examples

The source code for the examples in the tutorial guide is online. Alternatively, you can copy the programs from /export/teach/1AC++Examples/ on the Teaching System.

Frequently Asked Questions

• CUED C++ Frequently Asked Questions (with answers!)
• A comprehensive list of C++ Frequently Asked Questions is invaluable, though not aimed at absolute beginners.

Program Animations

These are taken from the lecture course (look for the "film" icon in the handouts). They may take a few seconds to load up. They require an add-on to the browser called "Metacard Reader" - they'll work in the DPO but might not work everywhere else.

• A simple example of program execution
• Functions and parameter passing
• Call by reference and local variables
• Pascal's triangle: arrays and functions
• Understanding data structures
• Data storage and retrieval - hashing

There are also some animations on http://demonstrations.wolfram.com (see for example the Finding roots using binary or interpolation search demo). Like the other animations, they'll work in the DPO but might not work everywhere else.

The GLUE Graphics Library

The Mich term exercises create no graphics. In the Lent term we use the GLUE library to create simple graphics.

More Practice

You don't need our graphics or trading routines to practice C++ in your free time, but you do need a C++ compiler. You can get one for your own machine, access the departmental machines remotely (see the next section), or get the MDP disk, which lets you run on your PC a set-up like the one in the DPO, with compilers, etc. Note that the MDP disc doesn't offer GLUE graphics or full support for the Lent exercise. To do those from home you'll need to login remotely.

Getting a C++ compiler

See our Installing C++ compilers page.

Programming Club

Mail Tim Love (tl136) if you want to try more programming. Further exercises are on the IA Programming Club page (Level 1 and Level 2)

More exercises

Most computing books (including the Deitel & Deitel book on the booklist) offer simple exercises to try. Sites with more exercises include

• Project Euler
• TopCoder

Remote Access

Want to work on the programs from outside CUED? Then look at the Remote 1AComputing page.

Still stuck?

If you're in a timetabled programming session, try asking a demonstrator. Otherwise, you'll find general C++ information on the help system's C++ page, or you could mail your problem to Tim Love (tl136), or ask him for a meeting.

© Cambridge University Engineering Dept
Information provided by Tim Love (tl136) and Dr AH Gee

Last updated: January 2012