We Build C++ Developers Who Actually Ship Code
Started in a cramped Tainan apartment, now teaching across Taiwan
MaxStream began in early 2019 when three engineers realized something wasn't working. Students were graduating with certificates but couldn't write production code. We started meeting in coffee shops, teaching what employers actually needed. Turns out, a lot of people wanted exactly that.
How This Started
Back then, I was debugging legacy C++ systems at a Taipei tech firm. Every new hire showed up knowing syntax but not how real codebases worked. Memory management? Threading? They'd never touched it.
So we tried something different. Weekend workshops where people built actual tools—command-line utilities, file parsers, things you'd use. First session had eight people. By summer 2020, we'd run out of space.
We moved to proper facilities in 2021. Added full-time instructors who'd spent years in systems programming. Now we run multi-month programs where students work on open-source projects and contribute to real repositories. It's messy sometimes, but that's the point.
What Makes Our Approach Different
We don't follow textbook chapters. Our programs mirror how professional teams actually work.
Code Review Culture
Every assignment gets reviewed like pull requests. Students see detailed feedback on performance, style, and edge cases. You learn to write code that other people can actually maintain.
Real Constraints
Projects come with actual requirements—memory limits, latency targets, compatibility needs. We don't grade on whether it compiles. We grade on whether it works when things go wrong.
Debugging Sessions
Wednesday evenings are dedicated debugging time. Bring your broken code. We work through it together, using the same tools you'd use at work—profilers, sanitizers, the whole toolbox.
Industry Patterns
You'll work with CMake, Git workflows, CI pipelines, and code documentation. These aren't extras—they're how modern C++ teams operate every day.
Build Something Real
Final projects are tools people use. We've had students build network libraries, game engines, and data processing pipelines. Several are still maintained as open-source projects.
Small Cohorts
Classes max out at 14 students. Everyone gets attention. If you're stuck on template metaprogramming at 9pm, there's someone you can message who'll actually help.
What You'll Actually Learn
Our curriculum covers what companies in Taiwan are hiring for right now. We update it quarterly based on job postings and conversations with hiring managers.
Most students come in knowing basic C++ from university. They leave building multi-threaded applications, working with modern STL features, and understanding when to use smart pointers versus raw memory management.
Systems Fundamentals
Memory models, concurrency, OS interactions—the stuff that makes C++ different from higher-level languages.
Modern C++ Standards
We teach C++17 and C++20 features, but also when to stick with older standards for compatibility reasons.
Performance Engineering
Profiling, optimization techniques, and understanding trade-offs between clean code and fast code.
Trygve Lindholm
Lead Instructor, Systems Programming
Trygve joined us in 2021 after seven years building trading systems at a Taipei fintech company. He's the person you want when debugging race conditions at 2am. His approach is straightforward—he'll show you exactly where your code breaks and walk you through fixing it.
Before teaching, he worked on latency-sensitive C++ applications where microseconds mattered. Now he runs our advanced concurrency modules and helps students understand the memory model. Students appreciate that he explains things without the academic jargon.