CSE 498
CSE 498 - Fall 2025 @ MSU
Tentative schedule
This course is divided up into six units, each of which is two to three weeks long. Before each class session, students will be expected to either watch a video (typically under 60 minutes) or read a blog post for in-class discussion. The course will meet twice a week (Mondays and Wednesday, 12:40pm to 2:30pm in STEM 2201); in addition to the discussion of material from the videos (which may include some elaboration on the content), classes will consist of live-coding demonstrations, live code reviews, quizzes, time for students to try out coding techniques, and time for the project groups to work together.
Unit I: C++ Fundamentals
| Date | Discussion Topic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | ||
| 1/13/25 | A review of 232 and 335 | |
| 1/15/25 | Tools: Compiler Features and Static Analysis Watch: 31 nooby C++ habits you need to ditch (16 min) Watch: Software Development with C++: clang-format (9 min) Watch: Software Development with C++: Compiler Optimization Levels (13 min) |
Quiz: 1a |
| Week 2 | ||
| 1/20/25 | NO CLASS (MLK Day) | |
| 1/22/25 | C++ Core Guidelines Watch: 10 Core Guidelines You Need to Start Using Now (first 54 min + optional Q&A session) |
Out: Project Group Assignments |
| Week 3 | ||
| 1/27/25 | C++ Terminology and Basic Concepts Watch: Stack vs. Heap Memory in C++ (20 min) Watch: L-Values vs. R-Values (4:18 to 12:42; 8 min) Watch: Why is there Undefined Behavior in C++? (4 min) Read: Type Casting in C++ |
Quiz: 1b (rescheduled) |
| 1/29/25 | Compiling C++ into WebAssembly with Emscripten + Using Doxygen Install and Read Tutorial: Getting Started with Emscripten Watch: Doxygen Basics (35 min) Optional: Using WebAssembly and C++ to Make a Simple Game (72 min) |
Quiz: 1c Due: Specs for initial C++ classes; team agreements |
Unit II: Writing Reliable Code
| Date | Discussion Topic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Week 4 | ||
| 2/3/25 | Avoiding Undefined Behavior Watch: Back To Basics: Undefined Behavior (62 min) |
|
| 2/5/25 | Tools: Setting up Testing Frameworks Watch: Back to Basics: C++ Testing (only 1:15 - 21:15) (20 min) Read over: Catch 2 - Tutorial Read over: Unit vs. Integration Testing |
Quiz: 2a Due: Initial working C++ classes, spec comments (extended to Friday (02/07/2025)) |
| Week 5 | ||
| 2/10/25 | Debugging your code Watch: Back To Basics: Debugging Techniques (65 min) |
|
| 2/12/25 | Memory Management + Casting Watch: C++ Memory Management Part 1: Pointer Primer, new, delete, macros (14 min) Watch: C++ Memory Management Part 2: Modern Pointers, shared, unique (23 min) |
Quiz: 2b Due: Test suite, class asserts |
Unit III: Writing Generic Code
| Date | Discussion Topic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Week 6 | ||
| 2/17/25 | Template Rules Watch: Back to Basics: Templates (Part 1 of 2) (61 min) |
Due: Fully functional initial C++ classes Out: Code review assignments and rubrics |
| 2/19/25 | Template Specialization and Variadic templates Watch: Back to Basics: Templates (Part 2 of 2) (67 min) |
Quiz: 3a |
| Week 7 | ||
| 2/24/25 | STATUS UPDATES | Due: Code Reviews |
| 2/26/25 | STATUS UPDATES | Due FRIDAY (2/28): Specs and tests for advanced C++ classes |
| SPRING BREAK! | (no class this week) | |
| Week 8 | ||
| 3/10/25 | Lambdas Watch: Back to Basics: Lambdas (67 min) |
|
| 3/12/25 | Ranges and Views Watch: Effective Ranges: A Tutorial for Using C++2x Ranges (63 min) |
Quiz: 3b Due: Initial working versions of advanced C++ classes; Integrate additional template functionality into C++ classes. |
Unit IV: Writing Efficient Code
| Date | Discussion Topic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Week 9 | ||
| 3/17/25 | Compile-time execution Watch: Introduction to constexpr (11 min) |
Due: Integrate lambdas into C++ classes. |
| 3/19/25 | Value semantics Watch: Back to Basics: Cpp Value Semantics (48 min) |
Quiz: 4a |
| Week 10 | ||
| 3/24/25 | Measuring Efficiency + Profiling Code Watch: BENCHMARKING in C++ (15 min) Watch: Intro to Profiling (25 min) (How to instrument code with above benchmarking) |
Due: Integrate compile-time operations OR value semantics into C++ classes. |
| 3/26/25 | Deep Dive: Implementing std::string Watch: The strange details of std::string at Facebook (31 min) |
Due: Fully functional advanced C++ classes Quiz: 4b Out: Code review assignments and rubrics |
Unit V: Advanced Topics
| Date | Discussion Topic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Week 11 | ||
| 3/31/25 | Custom Memory Management Watch: Track MEMORY ALLOCATIONS the Easy Way in C++ (13 min) |
Due: Specs and tests for main C++ App |
| 4/2/25 | Concepts Watch: Back to Basics: Concepts in C++ (61 min) |
Quiz: 5a Due: Code Reviews |
| Week 12 | ||
| 4/7/25 | Deep Dive: Sorting Watch: Sorting Algorithms: Speed Is Found In The Minds of People (75 min + optional questions) |
Due: Alpha version of C++ app complete. |
| 4/9/25 | Attributes and User-defined Literals Watch: Attributes (15 min) Watch: User Defined Literals // How to invent custom literal values (11 min) |
Quiz: 5b |
| Week 13 | ||
| 4/14/25 | Concurrency Watch: Back to Basics: Concurrency - FIRST ~31 minutes only (to question break) |
Due: Efficiency reports |
| 4/16/25 | Understanding Code Licenses Watch: Free and Open Source software licenses explained (15 min) |
Quiz: redos |
Unit VI: Wrap Up
| Date | Discussion Topic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Week 14 | ||
| 4/21/25 | Newer features in C++ Watch: C++23: An Overview of Almost All New and Updated Features (60 min) Optional: C++26 Preview - The Smaller Features (62 min) |
Due: Final Project! Out: Code review assignments and rubrics |
| 4/23/25 | FINAL PRESENTATIONS | |
| Week 15 | (Finals Week) | |
| 4/28/25 | FINAL PRESENTATIONS | Monday, April 28th, 12:45-2:45pm Due: Reviews of Final Projects! |
| 5/1/25 | FINAL CORRECTIONS | Due: Updates to Final Projects! (Final grading starts on 5/2/25) |