One of the best ways for beginners to learn about C++ is to examine and use existing class hierarchies. In this way you can begin to understand the advantages of inheritance and polymorphism, and you can also gain access to a number of valuable design techniques. The problem with existing hierarchies is that in most cases they are quite complex. The purpose of this article is to introduce SST - the Super Simple Toolkit - as an example class hierarchy. SST is a GUI class hierarchy that allows you to create super simple GUI applications, and experiment with a class hierarchy concepts in the process.

   These tutorials help you to gain an understanding of the fundamental concepts driving C++ in a quick and painless way. They let you begin thinking in an "object oriented way". Once you understand the fundamentals, the rest of the language is relatively straightforward because you will have a framework on which to attach other details as you need them.

How to use tutorial

   This tutorial is best used while sitting in front of your computer. It is designed to help you gain experience with your own C++ compiler in addition to teaching you the proper use of C++. Display an example program on the monitor, using whatever text editor you usually use, and read the accompanying text which will describe each new construct introduced in the example program. After you study the program, and understand the new constructs, compile and execute the program with your C++ compiler.

   After you successfully compile and execute the example program, introduce a few errors into the program to see what kind of error messages are issued. If you have done much programming, you will not be surprised if your compiler gives you an error message that seems to have nothing to do with the error introduced. This is because error message analysis is a very difficult problem with any modern programming language. The most important result of these error introduction exercises is the experience you will gain using your compiler and understanding its nuances. You should then attempt to extend the program using the techniques introduced with the program to gain experience.

   The way this tutorial is written, you will not find it necessary to compile and execute every program. At the end of each example program, listed in comments, you will find the result of execution of that program. Some of the constructs are simple and easy for you to understand, so you may choose to ignore compilation and execution of that example program, depending upon the result of execution to give you the output. Some students have used these results of execution to study several chapters of this tutorial on an airplane by referring to a hardcopy of the example programs. In the text of this tutorial, keywords, variable names, and function names will be written in bold type as an aid when you are studying the example programs.

The File Utility is a free Windows program that will split any file into pieces of any size and later combine the pieces to form the original file. This could prove useful in a number of situations:

   Suppose you need to transfer a file from one stand-alone computer to another. A floppy disk is often the only possible means for transferring the file, but if the file is larger than 1.44 megabytes, it won't fit on a single floppy. Simply split the file onto floppy disks, and then copy the pieces from the floppy disks to the other computer and easily reconstruct the original file.

   Many email systems place a limit on the size of an email message. What if you want to email someone a file that is larger than the maximum size? Split the file into pieces smaller than the limit and email the individual pieces.
   There are many other possibilities for using The File Splitter. I'm sure you can think of a situation where The File Splitter would be helpful.