C++ Book Recommendations

coletek · 01-11-2009, 09:54 AM

I totally recommend "C++ In Plain English 3rd Edition" (ISBN 0-7645-3545-5). Its the best one I've found. A awesome book to read and an also serves as an awesome quick reference - I mean it, its the best and only ~50AUD. Its the best C++ never written to learn from and use as a reference.

**laserlight** · 01-11-2009, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coletek

I totally recommend "C++ In Plain English 3rd Edition" (ISBN 0-7645-3545-5). Its the best one I've found. A awesome book to read and an also serves as an awesome quick reference - I mean it, its the best and only ~50AUD. Its the best C++ never written to learn from and use as a reference.

Having not read the book myself, I am hesitant to judge it by its table of contents alone (at least better than judging a book by its cover

), but something looked amiss when I checked its table of contents from Amazon. After reading Glassborow's review for ACCU I understand why: according to Glassborow, it does not teach modern C++ even to a satisfactory novice level.

coletek · 01-11-2009, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laserlight

Having not read the book myself, I am hesitant to judge it by its table of contents alone (at least better than judging a book by its cover ), but something looked amiss when I checked its table of contents from Amazon. After reading Glassborow's review for ACCU I understand why: according to Glassborow, it does not teach modern C++ even to a satisfactory novice level.

Next time ya in a book store, just check it out, trust me it serves as a very awesome reference - its layout is terrific and reads very well. Half the book is a reference, which lists/compares operators, keywords, pre processor elements, library functions, io stream classes. And the other half of the book is a C++ tutorial. Trust me its really good - I've read (and flicked through) about 10 C++ books and found this to be the best.

I come from a C world so, if you don't know C, then maybe this is not the book for you. But if you know C, this is the book for you.

The only downfall I have with the book is it has notes for Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0, I'm a Linux hacker, so I would of liked notes also on gcc/g++ - but hey, such is life.

**CornedBee** · 01-11-2009, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Looking further I discovered that the author never covers string or wstring anywhere in this book.

Sorry, but I trust the ACCU review more than the opinion of a C++ novice. If the above sentence about this book is true (and I have no reason to doubt its veracity), then it's enough to make me dismiss the book completely.

For example, the "io stream classes" you claim there's a reference for don't exist anymore. According to the review, the reference is for the pre-standard version of iostreams, but the standard versions have changed in a few quite significant areas.

Please read the review that laserlight linked to. It points out several major deficiencies of the book, and I have no reason to doubt that the author is right when he says that those are not isolated incidents.

**laserlight** · 01-11-2009, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coletek

Next time ya in a book store, just check it out, trust me it serves as a very awesome reference - its layout is terrific and reads very well. Half the book is a reference, which lists/compares operators, keywords, pre processor elements, library functions, io stream classes. And the other half of the book is a C++ tutorial. Trust me its really good - I've read (and flicked through) about 10 C++ books and found this to be the best.

Okay, using only that book as a reference, tell me what this program does without running it:

Code:

#include <map>
#include <string>
#include <cstddef>
#include <iostream>

int main()
{
    using namespace std;

    map<string, size_t> word_counts;

    string word;
    while (cin >> word)
    {
        ++word_counts[word];
    }

    for (map<string, size_t>::iterator iter = word_counts.begin(), end = word_counts.end();
        iter != end; ++iter)
    {
        cout << iter->first << ": " << iter->second << endl;
    }
}

Quote:

Originally Posted by coletek

I come from a C world so, if you don't know C, then maybe this is not the book for you. But if you know C, this is the book for you.

According to Glassborow, the problem with this book is its content. The book teaches C++ as if it were merely a "better" C. Modern C++ puts the C++ standard library to good use and makes use of idioms that are not found in C. Apparently, despite being published years after the C++ Standard was ratified, the book even has examples that are pre-standard.

EDIT:
Actually, considering that Glassborow cited gets() and a failure to distinguish between a pointer and an array, it is conceivable that Overland does not even teach C++ as a "better" C in this book. (I actually stole that "better C" phrase from a customer review on Amazon.)

coletek · 01-11-2009, 10:46 AM

Ok, well I see you points. But as a C coder, I only use C++ when I really need a O-O arch. When I use C++ I still use C style coding methods. I personally don't see the point in the overhead of using some C++ stuff (eg. string wstring) when it can be done in C (eg. char). Another example is iostream (what is wrong with printf, scanf).

From my point of view, C++ is only good for its ability to handle O-O for your large task at hand. In any other case it should be just C.

So based on my above comments I see the book as good. I just read the ACCU comments and while I agree with he's comments I still see it as a good book. Probably more so, because of the great layout and method to ref things so easy - something I've found hard to find in any books.

Phyxashun · 03-03-2009, 01:50 PM

I'm sure someone already mentioned it, but I have rather enjoyed reading Bjarne Stroustrup's book "Programming - Principles and Practice Using C++".

I have also enjoyed the Dietel books. Color always makes things easier to read.

emanuels · 03-18-2009, 04:15 AM

Deitel books are good. I got the solutions to the 6th edition and it helped me a lot.

pinkbyfloyd · 03-30-2009, 08:26 PM

Hi all, I have read c++ without fear and am currently over halfway through practical c++. c++ without fear was a really good book. practical c++ is good with showing more details of specific c++ options. The only thing is that with practical c++ it seems that there is not much in-depth talk and multiple examples for all this detailed stuff. The author kinda just gives it to you quick. I just got done with the file i/o section and at the end it lists programming exercises. And I dont feel that the author went through the file i/o in depth enough for me to feel comfortable or even know how to approach these examples. Is there a book that goes in depth with every aspect of what the chapter is about but also uses multiple examples. And realife implementations. I am kinda bored with book examples and want something to keep my interest, like seing the programs implemented with real computer data and not just things ive typed into the compiler. And examples help a lot. Not just one example but lots of them on one subject that shows multiple problems solved using different implementations of the subject matter.
thanks.

AndrejMT · 04-05-2009, 12:28 PM

I'm closing in on finishing C++ Primer (5th edition). What a wonderfull book, C++ seemed so vague and complex before I got my hands on this. Maybe some of my knowledge of Delphi helped me out tho.

But, I'm still far from satisfied with my knowledge. Even the author said that the book alone probably won't give me that much knowledge for me to allready be able to make stand-alone GUI applications (or such).

What do you recommend me as a second book? My interests are not gaming. I would like to get started with something simple, maybe image manipulation, text editing applications etc. Right now I'm more in the mood for some creative books, rather then books that focus on code optmization/similar topics. I thought about that Windows Programming book... but I'm still not sure if that's what I need right now.

chiefmonkey · 04-28-2009, 12:10 PM

I see that the majority of the recommended advanced books have to do with STL. Is STL widely used in the software industry these days? or is it a decaying technology? I just wanted to gather some information before I dig into the books. Thanks!!

brewbuck · 04-28-2009, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefmonkey

I see that the majority of the recommended advanced books have to do with STL. Is STL widely used in the software industry these days? or is it a decaying technology? I just wanted to gather some information before I dig into the books. Thanks!!

STL is widely, but not universally, used. What is more important is to understand templates in general, and perhaps the iterator concept (which is extremely powerful even without STL). A lot of people are rolling their own template algorithms instead of using STL, but STL is a great place to start.

chiefmonkey · 04-28-2009, 06:09 PM

Thanks, brewbuck

I appreciate your comments.

Daved · 04-28-2009, 06:55 PM

The STL as referred to in threads like this is actually the standard library. It is standard so it works the same in all standards conforming implementations (which means it works the same 99.9% of the time on modern compilers). That is why it is used a lot. Not only is it platform independent, it is implemented in the standard libraries for all conforming C++ compilers.

chiefmonkey · 04-29-2009, 03:53 PM

Hi folks,

I recently got to know that when we use new or malloc to allocate dynamic memory, the allocated memory block gets prefixed with some bytes that contain low level details like the block size, and etc. Which book would you cover this kind of information? I think a general computer architecture book wouldn't cover this sort of C/C++ implementation-specific information. Thanks!!

01-11-2009, 09:54 AM	#106
coletek Spam is Good Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: In a cave on Mars Posts: 34	I totally recommend "C++ In Plain English 3rd Edition" (ISBN 0-7645-3545-5). Its the best one I've found. A awesome book to read and an also serves as an awesome quick reference - I mean it, its the best and only ~50AUD. Its the best C++ never written to learn from and use as a reference.
coletek is offline

01-11-2009, 10:46 AM	#111
coletek Spam is Good Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: In a cave on Mars Posts: 34	Ok, well I see you points. But as a C coder, I only use C++ when I really need a O-O arch. When I use C++ I still use C style coding methods. I personally don't see the point in the overhead of using some C++ stuff (eg. string wstring) when it can be done in C (eg. char). Another example is iostream (what is wrong with printf, scanf). From my point of view, C++ is only good for its ability to handle O-O for your large task at hand. In any other case it should be just C. So based on my above comments I see the book as good. I just read the ACCU comments and while I agree with he's comments I still see it as a good book. Probably more so, because of the great layout and method to ref things so easy - something I've found hard to find in any books.
coletek is offline

03-03-2009, 01:50 PM	#112
Phyxashun Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 51	I'm sure someone already mentioned it, but I have rather enjoyed reading Bjarne Stroustrup's book "Programming - Principles and Practice Using C++". I have also enjoyed the Dietel books. Color always makes things easier to read.
Phyxashun is offline

03-18-2009, 04:15 AM	#113
emanuels Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1	Deitel books are good. I got the solutions to the 6th edition and it helped me a lot.
emanuels is offline

03-30-2009, 08:26 PM	#114
pinkbyfloyd Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1	c++ book Hi all, I have read c++ without fear and am currently over halfway through practical c++. c++ without fear was a really good book. practical c++ is good with showing more details of specific c++ options. The only thing is that with practical c++ it seems that there is not much in-depth talk and multiple examples for all this detailed stuff. The author kinda just gives it to you quick. I just got done with the file i/o section and at the end it lists programming exercises. And I dont feel that the author went through the file i/o in depth enough for me to feel comfortable or even know how to approach these examples. Is there a book that goes in depth with every aspect of what the chapter is about but also uses multiple examples. And realife implementations. I am kinda bored with book examples and want something to keep my interest, like seing the programs implemented with real computer data and not just things ive typed into the compiler. And examples help a lot. Not just one example but lots of them on one subject that shows multiple problems solved using different implementations of the subject matter. thanks.
pinkbyfloyd is offline

04-05-2009, 12:28 PM	#115
AndrejMT Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 1	I'm closing in on finishing C++ Primer (5th edition). What a wonderfull book, C++ seemed so vague and complex before I got my hands on this. Maybe some of my knowledge of Delphi helped me out tho. But, I'm still far from satisfied with my knowledge. Even the author said that the book alone probably won't give me that much knowledge for me to allready be able to make stand-alone GUI applications (or such). What do you recommend me as a second book? My interests are not gaming. I would like to get started with something simple, maybe image manipulation, text editing applications etc. Right now I'm more in the mood for some creative books, rather then books that focus on code optmization/similar topics. I thought about that Windows Programming book... but I'm still not sure if that's what I need right now.
AndrejMT is offline

04-28-2009, 12:10 PM	#116
chiefmonkey Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 34	STL Book Question!! I see that the majority of the recommended advanced books have to do with STL. Is STL widely used in the software industry these days? or is it a decaying technology? I just wanted to gather some information before I dig into the books. Thanks!!
chiefmonkey is offline

04-28-2009, 06:09 PM	#118
chiefmonkey Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 34	Thanks, brewbuck I appreciate your comments.
chiefmonkey is offline

04-28-2009, 06:55 PM	#119
Daved Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,137	The STL as referred to in threads like this is actually the standard library. It is standard so it works the same in all standards conforming implementations (which means it works the same 99.9% of the time on modern compilers). That is why it is used a lot. Not only is it platform independent, it is implemented in the standard libraries for all conforming C++ compilers.
Daved is offline

04-29-2009, 03:53 PM	#120
chiefmonkey Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 34	C/C++ Memory Management Book Hi folks, I recently got to know that when we use new or malloc to allocate dynamic memory, the allocated memory block gets prefixed with some bytes that contain low level details like the block size, and etc. Which book would you cover this kind of information? I think a general computer architecture book wouldn't cover this sort of C/C++ implementation-specific information. Thanks!!
chiefmonkey is offline

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