C++ Primer vs. Plus

Ok, I have narrowed the book I want as a C++ reference to these two.
Judging from the review, I'd like to go with C++ Primer Plus: 5th Edition instead of the C++ Primer: 4th Edition. What do you guys think?

C++ Primer Plus: 5th Edition
C++ Primer: 4th Edition

Another reason for choosing the C++ Primer Plus: 5th Edition was because it has answers to the questions and examples in each chapter, at the back of the book.

For C++ Primer: 4th Edition, you have to buy the C++ Answer Key book...and from the reviews, it has said that the answer key uses the examples from the 3rd Edition.

Any opinions are fine.

I have a much better suggestion for you.

Thinking in C++ By Bruce Eckel

you can get them for free online here at his website.
http://www.mindview.net/Books/TICPP/...ngInCPP2e.html

Or get the paperbacks. I personally like the actual books but he does offer them for free.

They are in my opinion the best "primer" to C++.

ahh... well seeing as I'm not really "Advanced"
I'm more of a

Code:

[Beginner][Intermediate][Advanced][Master][Guru]
           ^
Im right   |     here... lol

By defintion... all i have to do is cover the basics of pointers, and the STL library, and other intermediate techniques...

I think the book you gave me... was a little

[Beginner][Intermediate][Advanced][Master][Guru]
                            ^
right                       |   here....

I am judging based on the .html file of Volume 2.

Note that these books are not related in any way despite the similarity in names.

C++ Primer 4th Edition by Lippman, Lajoie and Moo has a very good reputation among C++ experts (at least the 4th edition does), and it seems that very few books have a good reputation. For that reason, I would go with that book.

The Prata book got unfavorable reviews at accu.org for teach outdated C++, while the Lippman and Lajoie 3rd edition is "highly recommended" and gets praise for teaching modern C++.

Another good reference and option is of course Stroustrup's The C++ Programming Language, 3rd or special edition.

Originally Posted by gL_nEwB

ahh... well seeing as I'm not really "Advanced"
I'm more of a

Code:

[Beginner][Intermediate][Advanced][Master][Guru]
           ^
Im right   |     here... lol

By defintion... all i have to do is cover the basics of pointers, and the STL library, and other intermediate techniques...

I think the book you gave me... was a little

[Beginner][Intermediate][Advanced][Master][Guru]
                            ^
right                       |   here....

I am judging based on the .html file of Volume 2.

Don't judge it based on volume 2 ... There is a reason why it is called "volume 2" - because it follows on from volume 1, and hence assumes you have a fairly complete working knowledge of volume 1. (which is far more geared towards a beginner level)

so i think i have made my choice then from Daved's comment...

I think ill go with C++ Primer: 4th Edition

1. I'd take a proffesional programmer's review over any Amazon review any day.

2. One reason I hate trying to get these C++ References is because some of them don't teach modern C++ code, instead they try to bind the C paradigm to C++. Reviews say that this is untrue for C++ Primer: 4th Edition.

The only turn down, though, is that in order to see if I am doing excercises right, I would have to go buy the C++ Primer Answer Book. And the book uses the C++ Primer: 3rd Edition when explaining the excercises. Hopefully, they will come out with an updated Answer Book to the 4th Edition.

And I don't like the avg. rating on Amazon... but like i said... id take a proffessional programmer's review over some of the reviews at Amazon.

Have I made a wise choice?

I have C++ Primer Plus, and it's a good choice. It's for beginning up to advanced. The reviews at amazon are completely accurate. It's a great reference, but it is also well written, easy to read, and completely up to date. I chose it for the fact when I bought it I was a beginner, and second, because I'd rather just get The C++ Programming Language, by Bjarne Stroustrup, for an intermediate-master book. However, C++ Primer may be just as good a choice - I don't know. I'd take Daved's word for it though. Considering you're not a beginner, it was probably a good choice.

It's my opinion that going through Accelerated C++, by Andrew Koenig, because it's a great jump start, and then using C++ Primer Plus as a reference and further reading is the best choice. That way you aren't reading a long reference. But you're already past the beginner stage, so I think Plus is a good choice.

what exactly do you want?
If you want a language reference, you really can't go past the C++ Programming Language by Stroustrup. I have to say I found C++ Primer a bit dry when I was first learning.

If you want to learn the language basics, get Accelerated C++.

I would also recommend Effective C++ (make sure you get the third edition). It's a great book for teaching you what the real world consequences of language decisions are, plus it's pretty easy to read.

Originally Posted by gL_nEwB

so i think i have made my choice then from Daved's comment...

I think ill go with C++ Primer: 4th Edition

1. I'd take a proffesional programmer's review over any Amazon review any day.

That's the right attitude IMO. the people who review these books at amazon are often advocates of learning C as a prerequisite to C++ (either because that's how they learned, or because they are beginners themselves, and think of C++ as an extention to C, rather than a whole new language)

But since C++ is a whole new language, avoid the masses who would rather have you believe otherwise

I got fairly into the C++ primer plus but since I have a good base in C++ I found that it didn't focus on the more important aspects of C++, so I got lost and picked up Accellerated C++, which I think is better, though it does do a lot of simple problems in a very complicated way, and some of the examples are a bit advanced.

Well, the real reason for wanting C++ Primer: 4th Edition was because of the praise that it gets from other programmers. As I have said before... I am past being a beginner seeing how I know variables, functions, basic game logic, basics of classes, basics of structures, and I've made a successful test in doing a dice game that eventually worked after completing the game logic.

So, I think I am at the stage for a "reference/intermediate" book for C++. The book I have now, was just a 192 page beginner book that taught me everything a beginner should know.

These are the chapters and things that I have learned the basics of:

1. Introducing C++
2. Storing Data
3. Performing Operations
4. Making Statements
5. Working with strings
6. Reading and writing files
7. Using functions
8. Creating classes and objects
9. Pointing to data
10. Referencing data
11. Inheriting features
12. Harnessing polymorphism
13. Processing macros
14. Handling exceptions
15. Moving on

Well, I have read this book and now I need more intermediate readings that would cover STL, and more advanced concepts of the language.

This is where I am at. I am hoping C++ Primer can teach and also reference me to things I need to know about C++, and in a modern way and efficient way of doing it.

So... for the final verdict, lol, once more,

C++ Primer: 4th Edition?

gL_nEwB

Why don't you look at both books yourself..I would not take one bad review of the Prata book- and then make my decision solely on it.

C++ Prata is a good reference book- not the best- but it is a book I have on my shelf.

How fast did you look at that C++ Primer book...

You can also look at C++ Data Structures books..

JC

Originally Posted by Mister C

gL_nEwB

Why don't you look at both books yourself..I would not take one bad review of the Prata book- and then make my decision solely on it.

C++ Prata is a good reference book- not the best- but it is a book I have on my shelf.

How fast did you look at that C++ Primer book...

You can also look at C++ Data Structures books..

JC

Actually, Prata has no bad reviews. At all.

Also, if you do look at DS&A books, you might consider Lafore: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067...lance&n=283155

Yes, it does say Java, but he makes mention of anything that would be differen't in C++, he doesn't use any Java terminology, and if not for minor syntax differences, it would compile in C++ no problem. I believe he did the examples in Java in order to stick to the topic, and not bother with pointers. Theres little, to none, code referring to a Java library (and that's just to print, and that's all). Great, and exceptionally written introductory to DS&A.

>> Actually, Prata has no bad reviews. At all.
He was probably referring to the two reviews from accu.org, both of which don't exactly recommend it.

For data structures and algorithms I believe Sedgewick's books are commonly recommended, and I have personally used the C++ versions with good success.

You can also see my personal book recommendations here.

Finally, while I still think C++ Primer 4th edition is the better choice among the two Primer options, I think Stroustrup's The C++ Programming Language might be a better reference, and it does have questions and an available answer book (by someone else). Also, if you just want to learn more, and more modern C++, Acclerated C++ is an excellent choice. It just doesn't have answers readily available (although posting the occasional question here would be a fun exercise for all of us and usually provide a suitable answer).

Ok. I think I have come to a choice, after all this... "thinking".
I will probably go with C++ Primer: 4th Edition and then get Stroustrup's The C++ Programming Language as a reference, later on, when I am at a more developed programming level.

I thank everyone for all the helpful opinions and insight that you have provided for me.

I will spend some time studying and then later on you will prolly hear me often.

Thanks Again.