So I picked up Accelerated C++ quite a while ago, and I've just recently been trying to finish it up, and now that I'm halfway there, my question is, where do I go from here?
Does anyone have any suggestions to any books I should follow up with after reading Accelerated C++?
Originally Posted by dra
No sorry. I just started Sams Teach yourself c++ in 21 days. I think after this one I'm going to get Accelerated C++. In General discussion they have book reviews , and I also think this post should be in GD.
If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.
I'd suggest Effective C++/More Effective C++/Effective STL by Meyers or Exceptional C++/More Exceptional C++ by Sutter.
I'd highly recommend C++ Coding Standards by Sutter and Alexandrescu. It also uses a lot of references so you can get an idea of what interests you and which choices are best to go deeper into the topics.
I don't own Accelerated C++, but here are a few that I consider good "2nd" C++ books:
Thinking In C++, by Bruce Eckel (Available FREE online. I think this is supposed to be a first C++ book for those who already know C.)
The C++ Programming Language, by Bjarne Stroustrup (Written by the creator of C++. Again, it seems to be written as a "beginning" C++ book for advanced C programmers.)
The C++ Standard Library, by Nicolai M. Josuttis (Really just covers the Standard Template Library... not the entire C++ standard library.)
Some of the information in those books is going to be redundant to the information in Accelerated C++, but I believe they will cover some subjects in much more depth.
Or, as Daved sort-of suggested, you might want to pick-up a book on an advanced topic that goes beond ANSI/ISO C++.... Something like Windows Programming, Networking & Sockets, Graphics, etc.
Last edited by DougDbug; 11-06-2007 at 01:10 PM.
So far, I'm thinking about going into Windows and network programming. I just wasn't sure how much of a foundation I would need before diving into these areas. Would I be able to start learning these things straight out of Accelerated C++, or would I need to know more?
Windows Programming is very complex so make sure you are 100% happy with your skills with the language basics before you attempt it
Double Helix STL
>> Would I be able to start learning these things straight out of Accelerated C++, or would I need to know more?
Yes, you can go from there. Obviously you need to know more in those specific areas, so you'd have to buy books/references for those next.
Reading the other C++ specific books (especially C++ Coding Standards) is a good idea to do at the same time to strengthen your foundation, but it isn't necessary.
I think you'll be OK. For the most part, you will be learning a function library, so it's important to understand "advanced" functions. ( i.e. Functions that require several library-specific parameters, functions that are passed-in pointers-to-structures, etc.)
There are good "getting started" sticky-posts at the top of the Windows and Networking forums.
To some extent, learning these libraries will be like learning a whole new language anyway... When I first got Petzold's book, I was shocked that Hello Windows didn't look anything like the C++ I'd been studying! Very few lines contained ANSI/ISO C++.... I think the only thing I recognized was a while-loop! (I haven't done any network/socket programming.)
Of course, all of that code in Hello Windows (as well as the other examples in the Petzold book) is related to the GUI interface. If you want the program to do anything useful, it will need some ANSI/ISO code too. The same would be true for a networking program... It doesn't do you much good to communicate over a network if the program doesn't do any useful "work". That's where your standard C++ comes-in.
