C++ Crash Course, 2nd edition cover

C++ Crash Course, 2nd Edition

A Fast-Paced Introduction
by Joshua Lospinoso
Fall 2025, 792 pp.
ISBN-13: 
9781718501102
Use coupon code PREORDER to get 25% off!

Designed for intermediate to advanced programmers, this book gets you straight to the core of C++20—the most modern revision of the ISO standard. You’ll  pick up everything from types and functions to the object life-cycle and expressions. 

The second edition of its bestselling predecessor is completely revised to reflect the latest in C++ code and practices. New and updated coverage includes new chapters on coroutines, concepts, ranges, and writing modules, as well as expanded discussions of popular features, like pro tools for managing builds and dependencies.

You’ll learn: 

  • How to invent your own string class to learn about object lifetimes, ownership, copy, and move semantics
  • How to craft an alphanumeric histogram generator to investigate program parameters
  • How to design your own heap for memory management while learning about dynamic allocation
  • How to make an HTTP client and a TCP echo server using Boost Asio

You’ll also discover the high-quality, full-featured facilities available to you through the C++ Standard Library and Boost Libraries, as well as special utility classes, data structures, and algorithms as you use 500 code samples and nearly 100 exercises that will have you manipulating filesystems and building high-performance programs in no time.

 

Author Bio 

Joshua Lospinoso, PhD is an entrepreneur who served 15 years in the US Army. As a cyber officer, Lospinoso wrote dozens of infosec tools and built and taught the C++ course that United States Cyber Command uses to teach its junior developers. He has spoken at a wide range of conferences, published over twenty peer-reviewed articles, and co-founded a successfully acquired security company. He keeps a blog and is an active contributor to open-source software. Lospinoso holds a PhD in Statistics from the University of Oxford and is a Rhodes Scholar.

Table of contents 

Introduction
Part 1: The C++ Core Language
Chapter 1: Up and Running
Chapter 2: Types
Chapter 3: References and Pointers
Chapter 4: The Object Life Cycle
Chapter 5: Runtime Polymorphism
Chapter 6: Compile-Time Polymorphism
Chapter 7: Expressions
Chapter 8: Statements
Chapter 9: Functions

Part 2: C++ Libraries and Frameworks
Chapter 10: Testing
Chapter 11: Smart Pointers
Chapter 12: Utilities

Chapter 13: Containers
Chapter 14: Ranges
Chapter 15: Strings
Chapter 16: Streams
Chapter 17: Filesystems
Chapter 18: Algorithms
Chapter 19: Concurrency and Parallelism
Chapter 20: Network Programming with Boost Asio
Chapter 21: Writing Modules
Chapter 22: Writing Applications

The chapters in red are included in this Early Access PDF.

Reviews 

Reviews of the first edition:

"A comprehensive book, both in size (over 700 pages, taking 5 months to review) and breadth of coverage . . . All in all, highly recommended."
—ACCU

"I can highly recommend this book to anyone who already has programming experience (in another language) and wants to dive straight into modern C++."
—Arjan van Eersel, @ArjanvanEersel, CTO of Plandail Limited