How Much C++ Should You Know For an Entry-Level C++ Job?

Nerval's Lobster writes: How much C++ do you need to know to land an entry-level job that's heavy in C++? That's a question Dice posed to several developers. While the exact topic was C++, the broader question of "How much X do you actually need to know to make money off it?" could also apply to any number of programming languages. In the case of C++, basics to know include virtual methods, virtual destructors, operator overloading, how templates work, correct syntax, the standard library, and more. Anything less, and a senior developer will likely get furious; they have a job to do, and that job isn't teaching the ins and outs of programming. With all that in mind, what's a minimum level of knowledge for a programming language for entry-level developers?

Comments

Answer

[s.petry]

NONE! Find a real language! *ducks*

Re:Answer

[ron_ivi]

unique_ptr ... shared_ptr

LOL at how C++ gets new smart pointers every couple years.

It's like they're trolling their own users with their:

• classes are kinda like structs, so you can use 'typedef struct ... *' for classes and 'void *' for generic functions (Everything from CFront in 83 through ARM in 99)
• no! 'void *' pointers are broken! use 'auto_ptr' instead (C++03)
• no! 'auto_ptr' is broken! use 'shared_ptr' instead (C++07/TR1)
• no! 'shared_ptr' is broken!(for most use cases) use
• 'boost::scoped_ptr' instead (non-standard, but more useful than the standard's shared_ptr)
• no! 'boost::scoped_ptr' is broken! use 'std::unique_ptr const' instead (C++11)
• no! 'std::unique_ptr const' is fugly! use "auto" and hope C++14's "return type deduction" will guess a safe type and hope C++17's "new rules for auto deduction" won't break stuff (C++14)

crap.

How the heck can people take an "object oriented" language seriously when it takes literally 30 years (1983 to 2014) for them to come up with a non broken way of making a reference to an object....

... and in the end they give it a syntax like "std::unique_ptr const".

W.T.F.

"How do you monetize Slashdot?"

[93 Escort Wagon]

That's a question Dice posed to several middle managers recently. "We paid a lot of money for this tech property, but we have absolutely no idea how to use it", said one Dice higher up who requested anonymity. "Seriously - help us out here! There are over three million Slashdot subscribers, but none of them will click on an ad!", he lamented. "And they won't come over to dice.com and discuss these stories we keep cross-posting! We don't want to just be a second-rate job board forever..."

The Correct Answer

[Anonymous Coward]

If Bjarne Stroustrup doesn't come to you for advice, you aren't qualified for an entry level C++ position.

How else can we prove that there are not enough qualified applicants and need more H1-Bs?

Encounter

[SuperKendall]

Don't think he was a duck. From the fact that he was about to give us a list of real languages but then failed to do so, I can only assume the last "ducks" was him exclaiming at being overwhelmed by a wave of ducks, that subsequently ate him.

Yes, I am quite sure the real problem is he was a victim of.... fowl play.