Back-End Foundations: C++ and Python Course

Course Activities

• Quizzes: 31
• Assignments: 85
• Projects: 2
• Exams: 2

Part 1 - Introduction to Python 3 Training

Lesson 1: Python Basics (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 5)

• Getting Familiar with the Terminal
• Running Python
• Running a Python File
• Literals, Comments, and Data Types
• Variables
• Constants and Deleting Variables
• Writing a Python Module
• print() Function
• Collecting User Input
• Reading from and Writing to Files

Lesson 2: Functions and Modules (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 2)

• Defining Functions
• Variable Scope
• Global Variables
• Function Parameters
• Default Values
• Returning Values
• Importing Modules
• Methods vs. Functions

Lesson 3: Math (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 3)

• Arithmetic Operators
• Assignment Operators
• Precedence of Operations
• Built-in Math Functions
• The math Module
• The random Module

Lesson 4: Python Strings (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 5)

• Quotation Marks and Special Characters
• String Indexing
• Slicing Strings
• Concatenation and Repetition
• Combining Concatenation and Repetition
• Python Strings are Immutable
• Common String Methods
• String Formatting
• Formatted String Literals (f-strings)
• Built-in String Functions

Lesson 5: Iterables: Sequences, Dictionaries, and Sets (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 4)

• Definitions
• Sequences
• Lists
• Sequences and Random
• Tuples
• Ranges
• Converting Sequences to Lists
• Indexing
• Slicing
• min(), max(), and sum()
• Converting between Sequences and Strings
• Unpacking Sequences
• Dictionaries
• The len() Function
• Sets
• *args and **kwargs

Lesson 6: Virtual Environments, Packages, and pip (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 2)

• Packages with pip

Lesson 7: Flow Control (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 3)

• Conditional Statements
• Compound Conditions
• The is and is not Operators
• all() and any() and the Ternary Operator
• In Between
• Loops in Python
• break and continue
• Looping through Lines in a File
• The else Clause in Loops
• The enumerate() Function
• Generators
• List Comprehensions

Lesson 8: Exception Handling (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 2)

• Exception Basics
• Generic Exceptions
• The else and finally Clauses
• Using Exceptions for Flow Control
• Raising Your Own Exceptions

Lesson 9: Python Dates and Times (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 2)

• Understanding Time
• The time Module
• Time Structures
• Times as Strings
• Time and Formatted Strings
• Pausing Execution with time.sleep()
• The datetime Module
• datetime.datetime Objects
• datetime.timedelta Objects

Lesson 10: File Processing (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 4)

• Paths
• The pathlib Module
• Opening Files
• Writing to Files
• Path Methods for Reading and Writing Files
• Making Directories
• Deleting Files and Directories
• Renaming Files and Directories
• The os Module
• A Better Way to Open Files

Lesson 11: PEP8 and Pylint (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 0)

• PEP8
• Pylint

Part 2 - Advanced Python 3 Training

Lesson 1: Advanced Python Concepts (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 5)

• Lambda Functions
• Advanced List Comprehensions
• Collections Module
• Counters
• Mapping and Filtering
• Mutable and Immutable Built-in Objects
• Sorting
• Sorting Sequences of Sequences
• Creating a Dictionary from Two Sequences
• Unpacking Sequences in Function Calls
• Modules and Packages

Lesson 2: Regular Expressions (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 1)

• Regular Expression Tester
• Regular Expression Syntax
• Python's Handling of Regular Expressions

Lesson 3: Working with Data (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 6)

• Virtual Environment
• Relational Databases
• Passing Parameters
• SQLite
• SQLite Database in Memory
• Drivers for Other Databases
• CSV
• Creating a New CSV File
• Getting Data from the Web
• XML
• JSON

Lesson 4: Testing and Debugging (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 2)

• Testing for Performance
• The unittest Module
• Special unittest.TestCase Methods

Lesson 5: Classes and Objects (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 5)

• Attributes
• Behaviors
• Classes vs. Objects
• Attributes and Methods
• Private Attributes
• Properties
• Objects that Track their Own History
• Documenting Classes
• Inheritance
• Extending a Class Method
• Static Methods
• Class Attributes and Methods
• Abstract Classes and Methods
• Understanding Decorators

Part 3 - Python Data Analysis with JupyterLab Training

Lesson 1: JupyterLab (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 5)

• Jupyter Notebook Modes
• Markdown
• Magic Commands
• Getting Help

Lesson 2: NumPy (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 3)

• NumPy Arrays
• Multi-dimensional Arrays
• More on Arrays
• Using Boolean Arrays to Get New Arrays
• Random Number Generation
• Exploring NumPy Further

Lesson 3: pandas (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 5, Projects: 1)

• Getting Started with pandas
• Introduction to Series
• np.nan
• Accessing Elements in a Series
• Series Alignment
• Comparing One Series with Another
• Element-wise Operations and the apply() Method
• Series: A More Practical Example
• Introduction to DataFrames
• Creating a DataFrame using Existing Series as Rows
• Creating a DataFrame using Existing Series as Columns
• Creating a DataFrame from a CSV
• Exploring a DataFrame
• Changing Values
• Getting Rows
• Combining Row and Column Selection
• Boolean Selection
• Pivoting DataFrames
• Be careful using properties!
• Plotting with matplotlib
• Other Kinds of Plots

Python Programmer Final Exam

Part 4 - Introduction to C++ Programming

Lesson 1: Getting Started with Modern C++ (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 1)

• History and Evolution of C++
• Procedural and Object-Oriented Features
• Program Structure Basics

Lesson 2: Core Syntax and Control Flow (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 1)

• Variables, Constants, and Type Deduction
• Operators and Expressions
• Basic Input and Output
• Modern Output: std::format
• Conditionals: if and switch
• Loops: for, while, do-while

Lesson 3: Functions and Functional Features (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 1)

• Defining and Using Functions
• Overloading and Default Parameters
• Scope and Lifetime
• Lambdas and Generics
• consteval and constexpr
• Error Handling Techniques

Lesson 4: Arrays and Strings (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 1)

• C-style Arrays and Strings Overview
• Modern Arrays: std::array
• Strings with std::string and std::string_view
• String Formatting with std::format

Lesson 5: Memory and Pointers (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 1)

• Basics of Pointers and Addresses
• Pointer Arithmetic
• Dynamic Memory: new and delete
• Smart Pointers: unique_ptr, shared_ptr, weak_ptr
• Pointers vs. References

Lesson 6: Structured Programming (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 1)

• User-Defined Types: struct
• typedef and enum
• Passing Structs to Functions

Lesson 7: Standard Data Structures (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 1)

• Vectors and Lists
• Stacks, Queues, and Deques
• Maps and Sets
• Unordered Containers
• Common Algorithms: sort, find, Ranges

Lesson 8: Object-Oriented Programming (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 1)

• OOP Principles: Encapsulation, Inheritance, Polymorphism
• Class Definitions
• Member Variables and Functions
• Constructors and Destructors
• Access Control
• Function and Operator Overloading

Lesson 9: Inheritance and Polymorphism (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 1)

• Base and Derived Classes
• Inheritance Types
• Virtual Functions and Dynamic Dispatch
• Abstract Classes and Interfaces

Lesson 10: File I/O (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 1)

• File Streams and Concepts
• Reading Files: ifstream
• Writing Files: ofstream
• File Modes and Error Handling
• Working with Structured Data Files

Part 5 - AI-Assisted Python and C++ Development

Lesson 1: Overview of Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 1)

• Overview of Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models
• Large Language Models: Challenges and Risks
• ChatGPT Overview and Use Cases
• How ChatGPT Helps Developers Write Code
• Prepping a ChatGPT Thread
• The Role of AI in Programming
• Getting Started with ChatGPT

Lesson 2: AI-Assisted Python (Assignments: 5)

• Setting Up and Using Google Colab
• Writing a Python Module
• Debugging and Optimizing Python
• Making Use of an API
• Creating a Python Script with File I/O
• Recommended Practice

Lesson 3: AI-Assisted C++ (Quizzes: 1, Assignments: 5, Projects: 1)

• Writing a C++ Program with AI Assistance
• Debugging and Optimizing C++
• Using AI to Understand and Explore C++ Code
• Creating a C++ Program with File I/O
• Recommended Practice

C++ Final Exam

The average salary for a software engineer in the U.S. is about $131,000–$133,000 per year, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Lightcast. Jobs requiring specialized skills like C++ can pay significantly more—around $159,600 annually. This field is growing fast, with overall demand expected to rise 15% by 2034, making it one of the most promising tech careers.

No prior experience with C++ is needed. If you have worked with any programming language before (like Python or JavaScript), that's helpful—but not required. The course starts with the basics and guides you step-by-step through practical projects.

This course prepares you for entry-level roles such as junior C++ developer, software engineer, or embedded systems programmer. C++ is widely used in industries like gaming, finance, aerospace, and robotics, providing strong career potential and average salaries exceeding $100,000 per year.