Thread: Recommended books for a semi-experienced programmer???

  1. #1
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    Recommended books for a semi-experienced programmer???

    Hey guys,

    I plan on jumping into C++ and was just wanted to get some recommendations from you guys. I looked at the recommended books on this page but wanted your opinion. I am experienced in Java (not an intermediate programmer though), I'm not looking for a total beginner book on C++ because I have done some C++ and have a grasp on the basic concepts. I'm looking more for a book that is geared towards tutorials and less theory. So if you know of any books that are beginner-intermediate that cover some of the more important concepts please post them here.

  2. #2
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    The best "2nd book" that I own is Thinking In C++, by Bruce Eckel. You can download PDFs of both volumes FREE!!! I liked them so much that I bought hard-copies. There are exercises, and if you want the solutions (available for volume one only) you have to pay about $20.

    The C++ Standard Library, A Tutorial and Reference, by Nicolai M. Josuttis. This is (I believe) a complete reference to the Standard Template Library (STL). It doesn't, for example, cover any of the standard C-library headers/functions (no <cmath>, etc.) And, I'd say its more a reference than a tutorial, but it is an awsome STL reference!

    You might take a look at a couple of begining books:

    Teach Yourself C++ In 21 Days, by Jesse Liberty. This was my first C++ book and I really liked the self-learnig structure, with questions and exercises at the end of each chapter (day) and answers and solutions in the back. At about 750 pages, there is quite a bit of material in there. Much more (for example) than the tutorials on this site. WARNING - Many people hate the "21 days" books. The only specific criticism I've read is that "they are superficial"

    Accelerated C++, by Konig & Moo. I don't own this book, but it's been recommended by some people here that I respect. It's about half as thick as the "21 days" book. It's a beginning book too, but I believe it covers some more advanced topics that are not covered in "21 days".
    Last edited by DougDbug; 04-19-2004 at 06:52 PM.

  3. #3
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    Although these types of books catch a lot of flak, I think the Sams Teach yourself Visual C++ in 24 hours is a great beginner's resource for Windows-specific programming. It lets you jump right in, and encourages experimentation and learning by doing--I think that's an excellent method.

    For the basics of the language, they're pretty similar to other OOP languages, so you should be able to pick them up pretty quickly (the tutorials and FAQs on this site are great). I also really like Bruce Eckel's Thinking in C++, although it pretty much assumes that you are fluent in C--which I'm not. Still, it's a good read and it contains a lot of theory info in addition to raw coding.

  4. #4
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    I found C++ analysis and design helpful(I'm not done it yet), though it uses Booches notation rather than UML.

  5. #5
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    Check out these in-depth C++ books.

    Exceptional C++ by Herb Sutter
    More Exceptional C++ by Herb Sutter
    Effective C++ Scott Meyers
    More Effective C++ Scott Meyers
    Modern C++ Design: Generic Programming and Design Patterns Applied by Andrei Alexandrescu

    After reading those books, you have to decide where you want to go with programming. You choose from Win32/Win64 platform, UNIX, etc.

    Kuphryn

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