Thread: C++ Book Recommendations

Use this thread to recommend books on C++. Please include a description of what this is book is good for, and not good for, etc...

UPDATE by webmaster--below is a list of the most commonly recommended books in this thread
Jumping into C++, Alex Allain (creator of cp.com) Well...this book hadn't been released when the thread was active, but if you like Cprogramming.com, I highly recommend it! ;-)
Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example, Koenig and Moo
The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference, Josuttis
Sams Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days, Liberty and Jones
Modern C++ Design, Alexandrescu
C++ Primer, Lippman, Majoie, and Moo
C++ Primer Plus, Prata
Thinking in C++, Eckel
C++ Without Fear, Overland

Originally Posted by JaWiB

The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis

Lots of info on the STL. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners, but otherwise it's a great book, especially for reference.

Josuttis is not only an expert in C++, but also in writing down his knowledge in a clear way. His book (together with Vandevoorde) C++ Templates is an absolute must for everyone who wants to know every small detail but also engineering techniques of templates.

Accelerated C++ by Koenig and Moo: Beginners book that teaches C++ style C++, one of if not the most commonly recommended beginner C++ books. Slightly more advanced and/or accelerated than other beginners books.

C++ Primer, Fourth Edition (or later) by Lippman, Lajoie and Moo: Comprehensive guide to C++ language].

Thinking in C++ by Eckel: Freely available online book for beginner/intermediate programmers.

The C++ Programming Language, Third Edition (or Special Edition) by Stroustrup: The definitive language reference by the language creator. Not particularly suitable for beginners.

C++ Coding Standards by Sutter and Alexandrescu: Compilation and guide to C++ best practices. Must have for intermediate C++ programmers.

Anything from Stroustrup's C++ In-Depth series or referenced by C++ Coding Standards, including:

Design Patterns by Gamma, Helm, Johnson and Vlissides
Effective C++, More Effective C++ and Effective STL by Meyers
Exceptional C++ and More Exceptional C++ by Sutter

Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days, by Jesse Liberty - Beginning book. It's easy to understand and well structured for self-study with questions & exercises at the end of each "day" (chapter), and answers & solutions in the back. WARNING - Some people hate all of the "21-Days" books!

Programming Windows, by Charles Petzold - This is the book for learning Windows Programming. You need to know standard C or C++ before starting this book.

The C Programming Language, by Brian W. Kernighan & Dennis Ritchie is a good reference to the C-part of the language. (A complete C reference.)

And, I second the following recommendations:

Thinking In C++, by Bruce Eckel - These (2 volumes) make good 2nd C++ books. They cover many C++ topics in depth. ( I think they are supposed to be beginning C++ books for people who already know C.)

The C++ Programming Language, by Bjarne Stroustrup - This book has some really helpful information in it. But, it is rather difficult to understand. It seems to have been written for advanced Computer Science students who don't know any C++. It is cool owning the book by the creator of C++!

The C++ Standard Library, by Nicolai M. Josuttis - I believe this a complete reference to the Standard Template Library (not the entire standard library). It makes a good 2nd C++ book if your beginning book doesn't cover the STL.

The ANSI / ISO C++ Language Standard - The ultimate C++ reference! The only complete printed C++ reference. Of course, this is a very technical document... You're not going to learn how to program in C++ by reading this document. Hard copies are expensive (about $300), but you can download a PDF copy from ANSI for about $20.

Since there are no complete C++ referrence books, other than the language standard itself, here are a couple of complete online references to Standard C++ :

cppreference.com

dinkumware.com

Object Orientated Programming in C++ by Robert Lafore 4th edition is great for novices and good reference for more experienced programmers too. breaks down the fundamentals of C++ programming into easy to understand chapters and includes exercises at the end of each chapter for review.

Originally Posted by DougDbug

Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days, by Jesse Liberty - Beginning book. It's easy to understand and well structured for self-study with questions & exercises at the end of each "day" (chapter), and answers & solutions in the back. WARNING - Some people hate all of the "21-Days" books!

Programming Windows, by Charles Petzold - This is the book for learning Windows Programming. You need to know standard C or C++ before starting this book.

The C Programming Language, by Brian W. Kernighan & Dennis Ritchie is a good reference to the C-part of the language. (A complete C reference.)

And, I second the following recommendations:

Thinking In C++, by Bruce Eckel - These (2 volumes) make good 2nd C++ books. They cover many C++ topics in depth. ( I think they are supposed to be beginning C++ books for people who already know C.)

The C++ Programming Language, by Bjarne Stroustrup - This book has some really helpful information in it. But, it is rather difficult to understand. It seems to have been written for advanced Computer Science students who don't know any C++. It is cool owning the book by the creator of C++!

The C++ Standard Library, by Nicolai M. Josuttis - I believe this a complete reference to the Standard Template Library (not the entire standard library). It makes a good 2nd C++ book if your beginning book doesn't cover the STL.

The ANSI / ISO C++ Language Standard - The ultimate C++ reference! The only complete printed C++ reference. Of course, this is a very technical document... You're not going to learn how to program in C++ by reading this document. Hard copies are expensive (about $300), but you can download a PDF copy from ANSI for about $20.

Since there are no complete C++ referrence books, other than the language standard itself, here are a couple of complete online references to Standard C++ :

cppreference.com

dinkumware.com

Thank you for your recommendation. I have just read the <<C++ primer>> and I wanna read <<Thinking in C++>>. However, I always have lots of problems about using C++ so that I need all of you to help me.Thinks a lot!

I have read a beginners book in C so I think I have the foundation concepts in place. As for a first book for C++ would this be a good recommendation? I am fairly quick and intelligent and I read good reviews about this book. Has anyone read this as a first C++ book considering they have had a little experience with programming?




[QUOTE=Daved;525849]Accelerated C++ by Koenig and Moo: Beginners book that teaches C++ style C++, one of if not the most commonly recommended beginner C++ books. Sli

Currently reading "Objects, Abstractions, Data structures and Design using C++", by Koffman and Wolfgang, ISBN 0471467553 (Wiley).

Very nice book if you know the basics of the language (it won't do more than give a quick refresher on things like what's an int).
Quickly dives into things like designing class hierarchies and then moves to abstract data structures.

One Book the I particulary like that hasn't been mentioned yet is Starting out with C++ by Tony Gaddis is an excellent choice for most beginning to intermediate programmers, there are three versions:

Brief, which like you'd expect is a truncated version of the book.

From Control Structures through objects, which is basically the standard version.

And Early Objects which basically covers the same stuff as Control Structures, however puts more emphasis on certain topics and less emphasis on other topics.

Ivor Horton's Beginning C++ is the only one I could find at the library.

Has anybody else used it, and can I teach myself with it?

I'm reading C++ Through Examples by P. Sellapan.

It belonged to my friend and he gave it to me. It seems kinda old (published in 1995) but it seems quite ok.

I learned quite a lot from this book.

I know it is not a c++ book, but it is a damn good programming book that every hobbist coder needs to read: How To Design Programs. There is a free web version www.htdp.org. (I actually got the book as a gift btw) If you are a self taught programmer no matter what language you are studying, read this book. The title is preaty self explanitory.

The Complete Guide to Programming in C++
By Jones and Bartlett Computer Science
A really cool book! Where it lets you do lil exercises that really helps!