This course concentrates on security issues intrinsic to the C and C++ programming languages and associated libraries. You will learn to identify vulnerabilities ensuing from common security flaws including:

This course covers specific remediation techniques for each category of security flaws as well as general secure coding practices that help prevent the introduction of vulnerabilities.

Material in this presentation was derived from the Addison-Wesley books Secure Coding in C and C++ and The CERT C Secure Coding Standard.



Exercise: Reviewing Code for Integer Defects

Day 2: Dangerous Optimizations & Dynamic Memory


Secure Coding in C and C++ is useful to anyone involved in the development or maintenance of software in C and C++. If you are a:


C or C++ programmer, this book will teach you how to identify common
programming errors that result in software vulnerabilities, understand
how these errors are exploited, and implement a solution in a secure
fashion.

Software project manager, this book identifies the risks and
consequences of software vulnerabilities to guide investments in
developing secure software.

Computer science student, this book will teach you programming
practices that will help you to avoid developing bad habits and enable
you to develop secure programs during your professional career.

Security analyst, this book provides a detailed description of common
vulnerabilities, identifies ways to detect these vulnerabilities, and
offers practical avoidance strategies.




The course assumes basic C and C++ programming skills, but does not assume an in depth knowledge of software security. The ideas presented apply to various development environments, but the examples are specific to Microsoft Visual Studio and Linux/GCC and the Intel Architecture.




Students are also encouraged to bring their own C and C++ programming language development environments (compiler, editor, etc.), such as Microsoft Visual Studio, Xcode, GCC, or Clang.

2 Days

21-22 Sept

Secure Coding in C and C++

Security

Programming Languages

We look at the pros and cons of various options to find the simpler, safer, more maintainable, and better performing options that exist.

Writing clean, safe, maintainable C++ that performs well by default by gaining a deeper understanding of the language

Using tools to help ensure that your C++ is as safe as possible


A working knowledge of C++. This class is valuable for all skill levels, but the absolute beginner will get less from the class.


Students will work on small exercises in groups. Students will need a laptop with a web browser that can access 

C++ Best Practices

Technique

Good Software Design -- the proper management of dependencies -- is the foundation for the success of a project. The basic building blocks for software design are design patterns. Design patterns have proven themselves invaluable over several decades and thus knowledge about them is essential to design robust, decoupled systems. Modern C++, however, has profoundly changed the way we use C++, how we think about design and implement solutions. This also affects how we implement design patterns.



This training class explores modern C++ software design and the modern forms of classic design patterns. It provides guidelines, idioms and best practices for sustainable and maintainable design, which enables programmers to create professional, high-quality code. Amongst others it will answer the following questions:


 How does good C++ design with a minimum of dependencies look like?

What are the most important rules for robust, maintainable, and sustainable design?

What are the most common pitfalls in C++ software design?

Why does classical C++ design based on inheritance hierarchies fail so often?

How are the classic design patterns implemented in modern C++?

What are alternatives to the classic design patterns?

After this course, participants will ...

... have a detailed understanding of the essential design principles;

... understand the benefits of separation of concerns;

... be able to design code with minimum dependencies;

... have an impression of the modern alternatives of classic design patterns;

... have gained knowledge about modern design techniques;

... understand how std::function, std::any, and ranges work;

... know about the importance of value semantics;

... comprehend the advantages of non-intrusive design.

Attendees will need to bring a laptop to this workshop. 
Either have a working C++20/23 environment on your machine (any OS, any IDE/editor and compiler work) or use an online compiler (

C++ Software Design

Two-day training session on AI agents, MCP, and Skills facilitated by Aleksander Stensby from GritAI. This training gives you the foundation to build MCP servers and MCP Apps, reusable agent skills, and wire everything into capable autonomous agents that actually work.

This hands-on workshop will equip you with practical skills to build your own MCP servers, CLI tool wrappers, and interactive MCP Apps — and then go further by creating reusable skills that turn simple tool-calling agents into capable, autonomous systems. You'll leave with a working agent powered by tools and skills you built yourself.

Day 1: Context & Connectivity — MCP Servers, Apps & Tools

Introduction to the AI agent stack: LLMs in a loop with tools and why context is king

Core MCP concepts: Host/client/server architecture, tools, resources, and prompts

Building a working local MCP server (Python or TypeScript)

MCP Apps: Adding interactive UI components to your MCP Server

CLI tools with direct API access as an alternative and complement to MCP

Hands-on exercises: Build an MCP server, extend it with an MCP App

What skills are and why they're the missing layer in most agent setups

Skills vs. tools vs. prompts: Understanding the capability stack

The skill creator pattern: Using AI to capture and formalise skills from workflows

Workflow capture: Turning expert knowledge into reusable agent skills

Agentic loop architecture: How LLMs, tools, and skills combine across frameworks

Provider-agnostic patterns: Claude, OpenAI, Gemini and beyond

Final exercise: Building a capable agent combining MCP tools and custom skills

Basic Python or JavaScript programming knowledge

Familiarity with AI/ML concepts (helpful but not required)

Laptop with necessary development environment

This training is targeted at developers and people with a medium+ technical skill level and interest for AI.



Bring your laptop with your preferred IDE and either Python or Node installed. We recommend an AI coding agent like Claude Code, Cursor, or GitHub Copilot.
Bring your favorite sauce! You need access to an LLM provider like Anthropic, OpenAI or Azure Foundry, but you can also use Ollama if you would like to run everything locally and free. Claude Code is highly recommended and will be used for a lot of the demonstrations during the workshop.

NDC { TechTown }

Workshops

09:00 - 17:00 (UTC+02)

C++ Software Design

Klaus Iglberger

C++ Best Practices

Jason Turner

Secure Coding in C and C++

Robert Seacord

Context and Skills Are All Your Agent Needs

Aleksander Stensby