Thread: what are the best C++(/STL), API(/OpenGL/DirectX), GUI, and SQL books?

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    what are the best C++(/STL), API(/OpenGL/DirectX), GUI, and SQL books?

    as the topic says

    C++ Books - C++ is the books and the order he mantined in the thread is good? cause if it is then ill follow it

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    Registered User Sharke's Avatar
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    Accelerated C++ gets my vote. It has an extremely high information density though and reading it is like eating a piece of very rich chocolate cake. A top-down approach which gets you using the standard library straight away. Not for first time programmers though. If you already know some C then it's a great book to read alongside Eckel's "Thinking in C++" which explains C++ from the bottom up.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sharke View Post
    Accelerated C++ gets my vote. It has an extremely high information density though and reading it is like eating a piece of very rich chocolate cake. A top-down approach which gets you using the standard library straight away. Not for first time programmers though. If you already know some C then it's a great book to read alongside Eckel's "Thinking in C++" which explains C++ from the bottom up.
    well i almost fully mastered the basic of C++ (tho i still know almost nothing in STL)

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    Registered User Sharke's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ExDHaos View Post
    well i almost fully mastered the basic of C++ (tho i still know almost nothing in STL)
    So take a look at AC++. It starts with strings, vectors and lists almost immediately. If you find a decent Win32 GUI or DirectX book then let me know because the ones I've seen so far haven't been too good and this includes online tutorials. They almost always neglect to explain things that you're curious or confused about.
    Last edited by Sharke; 05-18-2009 at 12:10 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sharke View Post
    So take a look at AC++. It starts with strings, vectors and lists almost immediately. If you find a decent Win32 GUI or DirectX book then let me know because the ones I've seen so far haven't been too good and this includes online tutorials. They almost always neglect to explain things that you're curious or confused about.
    Hmm well if you say so. XD

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    For Windows API functions, Charles Petzold's book may be old, but still applicable to all but the new additions in XP/Vista [and for most of those, they are just variations on existing functions, so it's not exactly requiring a new book to understand what it does].

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    Quote Originally Posted by matsp View Post
    For Windows API functions, Charles Petzold's book may be old, but still applicable to all but the new additions in XP/Vista [and for most of those, they are just variations on existing functions, so it's not exactly requiring a new book to understand what it does].

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    Hey, that sounds like something nice to try, thanks alot. ^_^

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    >> is the books and the order he mantined in the thread is good?

    I wouldn't necessarily follow the order, but I believe all the books listed are very good.

    The order depends on how many books you plan on getting. If you work for a company and they plan to buy (or already own) a bunch of books, then perhaps that's a good ordering (although the Josuttis book is more of a reference). If you're on your own and only plan to buy one or two off that last after Accelerated C++, then I would go for C++ Coding Standards and then either Josuttis' or Stroustrup's book.

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    I wonder if the posters here wouldn't mind registering their thoughts. The only windows book I've read (scratch - started/attempted reading) is 4th edition Windows Internals. How are the petzold books?
    Environment: OS X, GCC / G++
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    Master Apprentice phantomotap's Avatar
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    "How are the petzold books?"

    Pretty much the top of the game for API only C programming instruction. (You will not find MFC/ATL stuff at all.) You could do a lot worse for a reference. (I'm not naming any names, but two of the books on my shelf are pretty much a simple text dump of MSVC with no new information, no instruction, and no samples.)

    Soma

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    30 Helens Agree neandrake's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by phantomotap View Post
    "How are the petzold books?"

    Pretty much the top of the game for API only C programming instruction. (You will not find MFC/ATL stuff at all.) You could do a lot worse for a reference. (I'm not naming any names, but two of the books on my shelf are pretty much a simple text dump of MSVC with no new information, no instruction, and no samples.)

    Soma
    See this is the sort of information that would be best located in the book reviews section. Then when people look for a book on win API they can see if they want a text dump of MSVC or help with using API.
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    Quote Originally Posted by ExDHaos View Post
    well i almost fully mastered the basic of C++ (tho i still know almost nothing in STL)
    How much can one master C++ without the STL and with no knowledge of the books listed at the linked page, I'm not quite sure. :-/

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    Quote Originally Posted by medievalelks View Post
    How much can one master C++ without the STL and with no knowledge of the books listed at the linked page, I'm not quite sure. :-/
    "the basics of C++", and there's tutorials, so i don't need books to master the basics, the core language.

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