Learn C++ by Example • Frances Buontempo & Matt Godbolt
GOTO - The Brightest Minds in Tech
Style: almost-always auto rationale
Frances defends teaching auto, noting benefits, common gotchas, and when explicit types remain necessary.
This interview was recorded for the GOTO Book Club.
http://gotopia.tech/bookclub
Check out more here:
https://gotopia.tech/episodes/426
Frances Buontempo - Consultant, Developer & Author of "Learn C++ by Example"
Matt Godbolt - Low-level Latency Geek & Creator of Compiler Explorer
RESOURCES
Frances
https://bsky.app/profile/fbuontempo.bsky.social
https://mastodon.social/@fbuontempo
https://x.com/fbuontempo
https://github.com/doctorlove
https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesbuontempo
https://about.me/frances_buontempo
https://buontempoconsulting.blogspot.com
Matt
https://bsky.app/profile/matt.godbolt.org
https://xania.org
https://github.com/mattgodbolt
https://www.linkedin.com/in/godbolt
https://twitter.com/mattgodbolt
https://godbolt.org
Links
https://cppinsights.io
DESCRIPTION
Matt Godbolt interviews Frances Buontempo about her book "Learn C++ by Example", a practical guide aimed at helping programmers relearn modern C++ features introduced since C++11. Frances shares her unique teaching philosophy, which emphasizes self-contained, playable examples like simple games that make complex concepts accessible and memorable.
Drawing on her background in mathematics and her father's work in teacher education, she explains how her approach—exemplified by her famous "X Out of a Y Paper Bag" series of talks—uses humor and practical scenarios to help learners understand challenging topics like coroutines, the spaceship operator, and the "almost always auto" style. The discussion touches on the evolution of C++, the upcoming reflection features in C++26, and Fran's current project: writing an introductory C++ book for complete beginners, despite finding concepts like "constant variable" challenging to explain even as an experienced author.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Frances Buontempo • Learn C++ by Example • https://amzn.to/4rgxSZX
Frances Buontempo • Introducing C++ • https://amzn.to/40aHQQC
Frances Buontempo • Genetic Algorithms and Machine Learning for Programmers • https://amzn.to/3OLjXMV
Daniel Kusswurm • Modern Parallel Programming with C++ and Assembly Language • https://amzn.to/4o5J3SF
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