Lesson 0, Material 0: Course Introduction Summary

This course teaches programming fundamentals through building a complete Tic-Tac-Toe game in C++, using a problem-first learning approach where you understand real challenges before learning the concepts that solve them. You'll leverage existing knowledge of Tic-Tac-Toe rules—the 3x3 grid, turn-taking mechanics, and winning conditions—to focus entirely on programming concepts without wrestling with complex game logic. Each lesson introduces one specific concept (variables, conditionals, loops, arrays, functions) and immediately demonstrates how it contributes to your growing game, ensuring theory connects directly to practical application. Using Outscal's browser-based C++ compiler eliminates setup overhead, letting you write and run code instantly. The learning path follows a deliberate progression: understanding what programming is, storing player moves with variables, validating moves with conditionals, maintaining game flow with loops, representing the board with arrays, and organizing code with functions. By the final lessons, these building blocks combine into a fully functional two-player console game that displays a numbered grid, validates input, detects all eight winning patterns (three rows, three columns, two diagonals), recognizes ties, and guides players with clear messages—all written entirely by you, line by line.

The Payoff: You'll understand the complete course structure, the problem-first methodology, and what your final working Tic-Tac-Toe game will accomplish, giving you a clear roadmap for the learning journey ahead.

What's Next: The course now transitions to answering the foundational question of what programming actually is and how computers process instructions through programming languages.

This is the first lesson of our journey together. Let's dive in and start learning programming!

Welcome to Programming with Tic-Tac-Toe

In this course, you'll learn programming by building something you already know how to play: Tic-Tac-Toe. You've probably played it dozens of times with friends or family. But have you ever wondered how you'd teach a computer to play it?

That's what programming is all about—teaching computers to follow instructions. And Tic-Tac-Toe is perfect for learning because it has clear, simple rules.

Here's how this course works: we'll break down the game into small pieces, and each piece will teach you a new programming concept. By the end, you'll have a working game that runs on your computer, and you'll understand how programs actually work.

We're using C++ as our programming language. C++ is one of the most widely used languages in the world—it powers video games, operating systems, and even spacecraft. Don't worry if that sounds intimidating. We'll start from the very beginning.

How We'll Learn Together

You won't just watch—you'll build. Every lesson connects directly to the Tic-Tac-Toe game.

When we learn about variables, you'll use them to store player moves. When we learn about functions, you'll use them to draw the game board. Each concept has a real purpose in your game.

This approach means you'll see why each concept matters, not just what it does. Programming can feel abstract when you learn random examples. But when every example connects to your game, it all makes sense.

We'll also tackle problems first, then solutions. When you run into a challenge in your game, we'll introduce the programming tool that solves it. This mirrors how real programmers work—they don't memorize every feature, they learn what they need when they need it.

What You'll Build

Let's look at what your finished game will look like. When you run it, the console will display:

 1 | 2 | 3
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 4 | 5 | 6
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 7 | 8 | 9

Players take turns entering numbers 1-9 to place their mark (X or O) in that position. After each move, the game checks if someone won or if the board is full. Simple rules, but they'll teach you everything you need to know about programming.

You'll write every line of code yourself. We won't give you pre-built pieces to assemble. This might sound harder, but it's actually the best way to learn. When you type each line and see it work, you understand it deeply.

Your Programming Environment

We'll use Outscal's online C++ compiler at https://outscal.com/online-compilers/cpp. This means you don't need to install anything on your computer—you can start coding immediately in your browser.

The compiler has two parts: a code editor where you write your program, and a console that displays the output when you run it. You'll type C++ code in the editor, click "Run," and see the results instantly in the console.

This instant feedback is crucial for learning. You'll make mistakes (everyone does), and seeing exactly what went wrong helps you fix it and understand why.

What's Next

Now that you know how the course works and what you'll build, the obvious question is: what exactly is programming? How do programs actually work? We'll answer that next.