Recent and not so recent C++ books ;-)

C++ Strategies and Tactics

by Robert B. Murray

Paperback: 304 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.79 x 9.20 x 7.40 Publisher: Addison-Wesley Pub Co; (March 1993) ISBN: 0201563827   Average Customer Review: Based on 6 reviews. Write a review.   Amazon.com Sales Rank: 101,056

Brain embedding knowledge, July 9, 1999     Reviewer: A reader from Los Angeles, California For the reviewer below that stated that this book is dated because it does not cover templates could not be farther from reality, as apparently he has not read the book nor has he looked at the table of contents. If my eyes are still functional, this book has two chapters consectutive dedicated to to templates, chapter 7 [Templates] and 8[Advanced Templates]. This book is easy to read and for the novice wanting to get up to speed on the syxtax of the language and more importantly when and how to use each contruct of the language, this book has no equal except two other books. The books are Kayshav Dattatri's C++ Effective Object Oriented Software Construction and James O. Copliens Advanced C++: Styles and Idioms from Prentice Hall and Addison Wesley respectively. This book is not even 300 pages which allows you to read it again and bolster what you vacumed on the first pass and ready for instinctive mastery for the second and third passes if you are really ambitious. The discussion on smart pointers is informative and will assist you in your way to patternizing COM code. This book is for all experience types and serves as a perfect desktop reference guide for C++ masters alike. With this book and the two mentioned above, plus the C++ IO Streams Handbook by Beale, there are no other books you should refer to, probably including Stroustrup's.

A "must read" book for C++ programmers., December 13, 1998     Reviewer: An Amazon.com Customer Robert Murray's book is fantastic. It is very useful to help a programmer progress from being a beginner to at least an intermediate level C++ programmer. After having read 2 introductory books, I was having trouble finding a book that would help me progress as a C++ programmer. All the books were too elementary or too esoteric (like design patterns). Then I found "C++ Strategies and Tactics" and my prayers were answered. It's so good that I read it twice. I strongly recommend this book. I wish a 2nd edition would come out, now that we have an ANSI Standard C++.

 

 

**+ C++: An Introduction to Data Structures

by Larry R. Nyhoff

Average Customer Review: **

Hardcover - 700 pages 1 edition (January 21, 1999)
Prentice Hall; ISBN: 0023887257 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.60 x 9.58 x 7.23

Amazon Price: $73.00
 

This is a very expensive and pretty boring textbook is used in many colleges for Advanced Object Oriented programming course. If you use it in Advanced Object Oriented Programming course you need to cry and run or run and cry ;-). The writing is excruciatingly dull (tedium ad-nauseum), the organization of the material is non-existent, and it has a very poor index. All of that makes getting the information you need, when you need it, very difficult (or a matter of luck).

The individual features of C++ discussed in the book are not only complex by themselves, but when put together in a program they interact in highly non-intuitive ways. The author discuss each of the features very briefly and as an isolated entity, giving the readers the illusion of understanding but avoiding discussing any non-trivial issues that arise in practice as well as typical mistakes (this fault alone downgraded the book to below average). But when they try to program using the book, they're in for a painful surprise. Actually this book has a misleading title, this an intro to STL, not so much into Data Structures.

In the first three chapters the author delves into C++ arcana and I suspect that a student with just one (and semi-forgotten) course of C++ will be unable to understand this material no matter what. Examples are very sketchy and generally require work to make them run. the first three labs are of  low quality and especially out of touch with the college reality when students that take this class barely can program in C++. They are simply unsuitable for most students after a year of C++ experience. And to add insult to injury none of tricky areas covered in the labs are explained well in the book. 

Chapter 1 discusses software development. Extremely weak and superficial treatment of a pretty complex topic. It's  clear that the author does not understands the subject in depth and the chapter is completely detached from reality. Any student would be better off reading the "Elements of the Program Style" or Fast project Developemnt" instead. No help of dealing with real problem, and no relevance to the rest of course. The waterfall model of software development is introduced without even mentioning alternatives. The "official" list of software development stages provided in a book is highly misleading.  In practice, the phases are intermixed and the process in iterative -- often you need to return from coding to specification after discovering that the approach chosen does not work or that there is a better way to specify the task that leads to a cleaner and/or simpler solution.

Chapter 2 discusses relationship between data structures and abstract data types. Discussion of the primitive C++ data types contains some information that is more appropriate for the assembler class (like the way floating representation stores mantissa ). After that the author discusses arrays. Sparse arrays problem and the variant of storage of multidimensional arrays are completely ignored.  Some author claims are suspect. For example of p.52 we read:

"One of the principles of object oriented programming is that an object should be self-contained, which means that it should carry within itself all the information necessary to describe and operate on it. Arrays violate this principle. in particular they carry neither their size nor their capacity within them..."

... " we must pass to Print() not only the array to be displayed but also its size, and this is not consistent with the aims of the object-oriented programming" (italics belongs to the Larry Nyhoff -- NNB).

It's because such nonsense I hate the books that mix OOP with data structures :-). It looks like the author does not understand that C++ implementation of arrays is not universal and in some old procedural languages like PL/1 the size of the array is passed as a hidden parameter and can be retrieved using build-n function ;-). Same is true for non-object oriented scripting languages like Perl. In those languages arrays are pretty much self-contain. Then the author tries to explain structures and fail to provide any reasonable treatment of the tickly aspects of this topic. For example is next to impossible to understand how unions work from the text and I highly recommend to get a different textbook for the topic  At the end of the chapter the author extols the virtue of OOP in comparison with the procedure oriented programming although is algorithms and data structures this approach is highly suspect and might represents a contemporary religious aberration that will not survive the test of the time. 

In Chapter 3 along with explanation of C++ class construct the author managed to discusses strings (without much details. A simple editor listing is provided, data encryption (DES and RSA are mentioned, and, to ensure that the student completely lost interest,  the subject pattern matching is added to the mix :-). 

After that the book changes the topic and became more introduction of  STL library that a data structure course. As an introduction to STL it might makes sense but as an introduction to data structures probably not.

Chapter 4 discusses stacks. Chapter 5 queues.  Chapter 6 is devoted to Templates and Standard containers.  Chapter 7 is about ADTs. 

Actually vectors are strings are explained not that badly and labs are much better than previous.

Chapters 8 and 9 discuss lists.  Chapter 10 discusses binary trees. Chapter 11 discusses sorting.  Chapter 12 tries to link OOP and abstract data types. Chapter 13 is devoted to trees. Chapter 14 discusses Graphs and Digraphs.

You cannot compare this text to Knuth were you really feel the class of author even if you do not understand half of the material (still you definitely feel the respect, that might help to return to the subject later in one's professional career.) 

In this book a typical student probably will never understand two-thirds of the material because data structures are obscured by object-oriented arcana. And he/she will not receive anything in return other then strong desire not have anything in common with this subject for the rest of his/her professional life :-).

Less than helpful, May 13, 2000
Reviewer: liz mccraven (see more about me) from New Jersey
I used this book as a student in an online version of a Data Structures class. None of us liked this book. The examples are vague and some of the exercises are misleading. I found the organization of the book to be confusing as well. Not good for learning Data Structures on your own.

Not for the faint of heart, January 31, 2000
Reviewer: Jim Hare (see more about me) from St Louis, MO
This book, while perhaps suitable for a more agressive Data Structures course. Was unsuitable for most students in my college Data Structures class after a year of C++ experience. The code presented in the text is very skeletal, with far too many "left as an exercise to the reader" for my taste.

 

More Exceptional C++

by Herb Sutter

... Our Price: $34.99
Paperback - 256 pages 1st edition (December 17, 2001)
Addison-Wesley Pub Co; ISBN: 020170434X

Amazon.com Sales Rank: 5,740

Filled with forty all-new working strategies and solutions, February 9, 2002
Reviewer: Midwest Book Review (see more about me) from Oregon, WI USA
Part of the outstanding Addison-Wesley "C++ In-Depth Series", Herb Sutter's More Exceptional C++: 40 New Engineering Puzzles, Programming Problems, And Solutions is the sequel to his popular and "user friendly" Exceptional C++: 47 Engineering Puzzles, Programming Problems, And Solutions (0201615622). Filled with forty all-new working strategies and solutions to solve real-world problems, More Exceptional C++ presents its valuable information in problem-and-solution format so that experienced programmers can streamline their code and improve their results. Chapters cover such topics as code optimization and so-called "lazy optimization"; the uses and pitfalls of multiple inheritance; how to properly use auto_ptr and much, much more. A valuable and informative resource for experienced C++ programmers.


Effective C++'s Big Brother, February 1, 2002
Reviewer: A reader from Sim City, CA (Somewhere in the Bay Area)
Addison Wesley's "C++ In-Depth Series" is showing an amazing consistency in producing one winner after the other. Any C++ programmer could almost blindly pick up any book in the series and learn some new valuable insights.

I like "More Exceptional C++" even more than the original. It's not clear to me whether this is because the book is better or because the subject matter has become more important to me. The "Exceptional C++" series is shaping up to be a big brother to the "Effective C++" series, covering areas somewhat more advanced than those in the Effective series, such as exceptions, templates, and namespaces.

One aspect of the book I don't particularly care for is the quizzes/points format that, I suspect, is due to the origins of the book in the author's "Guru of the Week" series.

This is a great book and should belong in every advanced C++ programmer's personal library.


Picks Up Where The First Book Left Off, January 30, 2002
Reviewer: Philip R. Heath (see more about me) from Plano, TX United States
More Exceptional C++ is every bit as good as the first offering from Sutter. Like the first, this is an advanced text, and a solid working knowledge of C++ is necessary to get the most out of this book.

For those without experience with Sutter's previous book, this is divided into "Items" grouped together by broad subject area. Unless the the items make up a series such as Items 13-16, they can be read independently and in any order. This layout is helpful to the reader who doesn't have a lot of time to read a book from cover to cover. One can sit down and spend 30 minutes with an item and gain valuable insight into the specific subject matter Sutter deals with.

I enjoy the author's writing style because he tends to be more conversational than lecturing. He interjects humor - albeit it geek humor - from time to time. The presentation makes learning advanced techniques, dare I say, fun rather than dry and cumbersome.

It is also worth noting that being advanced doesn't preclude being practical. Sutter deals with everyday topics such as the STL, exception safety, and inheritance. If you are ready to make the step to advanced C++ programmer, this book will guide you on your way in a practical, enjoyable manner.
 

[Aug 07, 2001]  Avery good, excellent intro book Practical C++  by Rob McGregorA very talented writer.

Paperback - 889 pages (September 1999)
MacMillan Computer Pub; ISBN: 0789721449 ; Dimensions (in inches): 2.09 x 9.27 x 7.42

Excellent learning tool! Finally!, August 6, 2000
Reviewer: A reader from Tampa, FL
This book is very well laid out! I sat in the book store for hours sifting through the barrage of C++ books before I decided on this one. For me, this is the perfect guide to the C++ language. I struggled to understand the language for years as a hack who vaguely understood the critical concepts, much less how to implement them. No longer! I think this book should be titled "Understandable C++". The only thing I would have him add to the book is a chapter on BSP, QUAD, and OCT, trees. All I need now is for Rob McGregor to write a book on how to handle MFC and Win32.

**** Using C++

by Rob McGregor, Robert W. McGregor, Jerry Anderson
 Our Price: $29.99

Paperback - 889 pages (July 1998)
Que; ISBN: 0789716674 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.77 x 9.06 x 7.33
Amazon.com Sales Rank: 252,911

Avg. Customer Rating:
Number of Reviews: 9
table of contents

Very easy to read. Easy to understand explanations of difficult concepts in most situations. Quite comprehensive. Nice big margin to scribble notes in. Useful codes samples. Good price. A good starting textbook or supporting textbook. I found very good explanations of concepts like template and namespaces. Good book to understand concepts, may need little tweak in for the example code. Overall, a pretty good intro book.

Good C++ introduction - but a little simple!, August 31, 1999
Reviewer: Nikolay Qviller from Norway
This book is a good one for people who has never before programmed in C++. For those who has done that, I would not recommend this book. Then you should read C++: The Complete Reference instead! The explanations of templates, namespaces, exception handling and operator overloading are a little too simple for me. Also, the last part of the book, The Standard C++ Library, breaks the tutorial form of the book into a pure reference form!!! One of the programs has a very nast bug in it that should have been checked. It completely crashed my system, and I spent the rest of the day figuring out what went wrong!

Nice!, June 7, 1999
Reviewer: [email protected] from Vermont
Fun to read. Clearly written. Great annotation of concepts in the margins. Pretty colors. Comprehensive, detailed, concise. Excellent index. Wish it had a workbook with examples. Would have given it a full 5 stars except for the fact that it's a bit heavy to lug around -- so: ****1/2*.

The only good book on c++ I came across!, January 16, 1999
Reviewer: A reader from USA
Well organised and appealing print. Examples are great. One of the best books on c++. Reasonably priced. Concepts are very well explained. While most other books are vague and make c++ appear like a monster (or do not deal with the difficult parts ), this book makes it interesting.

Great First C++ Book, January 8, 1999
Reviewer: [email protected] (see more about me) from Philadelphia
This book was invaluable in my experience with C++. I recommend it to anyone trying to learn C++.

Debugging C++ Troubleshooting for Programmers

by: Chris Pappas & William Murray, III
Amazon Price: $31.99

Paperback - 523 pages (April 21, 2000)
Osborne McGraw-Hill; ISBN: 0072125195 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.29 x 9.05 x 7.41
Amazon.com Sales Rank: 293,721
Avg. Customer Rating:
Number of Reviews: 3

Free code: debuggingcplus.zip

Prevent problematic code and fix bugs with help from the expert techniques and strategies found in this unique resource. Debugging C++ shows you how to recognize and stamp out common and little-known code bugs quickly and easily. You'll get complete coverage of procedure-oriented debugging in terms of STL and Windows applications, as well as object-oriented debugging with respect to MFC code. Software bugs cause chaos and downtime which can result in lost revenue. Save the day––use the real-world solutions in offered this handbook to prevent bugs from crippling your company's systems.

Inside, learn to:

• Optimize your code with the compiler
• Understand the differences between logical and syntactical errors
• Debug code in the procedure-oriented environment––at the command line and in Windows
• Locate, analyze, and repair object-oriented code errors at the command line and in the Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) Library
• Handle Standard Template Library (STL) code debugging
• Work with DLLs and fix ActiveX and COM errors
• Write error-free programs from development to deployment!

This unique reference shows you how to prevent problematic procedure-oriented and object-oriented code and handle ActiveX, COM, STL, and MFC coding problems.

"Great advice with practical, real-world examples. C++ programmers will avoid all kinds of headaches with this book." --Elden Nelson, Editor-in-Chief, Visual C++ Developer's Journal

C++ Interactive Course

Sams Teach Yourself C++ for LINUX in 21 Days (With CD-ROM)

by Jesse Liberty, David B. Horvath

Our Price: $31.99

Paperback - 1109 pages 1st edition (May 15, 2000)
Sams; ISBN: 0672318954 ; Dimensions (in inches): 2.28 x 9.10 x 7.35
Amazon.com Sales Rank: 14,532
Avg. Customer Review:
Number of Reviews: 1

Impressive number of pages :-)

Practical Visual C++ 6

by Jonathan Bates, Tim Tompkins, Timothy Tompkins

Our Price: $23.99

Paperback - 832 pages (September 1999)
MacMillan Computer Pub; ISBN: 0789721422 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.93 x 9.07 x 7.36
Amazon.com Sales Rank: 7,504

Avg. Customer Review:
Number of Reviews: 5

Good book, Focuses on how to use the IDE to access MFC, May 14, 2000
Reviewer: Reader (see more about me) from Australia
This is a great book for learning how to use the VC++6 software, and in so doing, gain an understanding of how to use the easy stuff (like controls). It doesn't do a lot to teach the syntax of C++, so if you want to know the key to the language, this isn't the book for you. If you want a genuinely first class tutorial on how to use the VC++6 software, this is it. And surprise surprise, what code there is actually works (anyone who's read a few computer books knows how rare that is!). To say that it will teach you intermediate C++ in a few chapters is however an exageration. I've read some other C++ books (and been programming several years in other languages) and as far as the actual C++ language goes, this book is about as basic as it gets. But even so, it's a great tutorial for the software and intro to basic MFC.

A revelation!, July 4, 2000
Reviewer: Andrew Norris (see more about me) from Austin, TX USA
If I see one more hack write their version of Microsoft Documentation Regurgitated I think I'm going to lose my lunch. Fortunately, this isn't one of those. This book differentiates itself by what it leaves out--you won't see nook and cranny of Visual C++ covered, and you won't get 800,000 lines of code free on the CD. Instead, it picks out the key features you really need to know to start getting a handle on Visual C++, and covers them clearly and thoroughly.

This book assumes you know how to write C++, and it assumes you understand object oriented programming, so it doesn't waste your time trying to rehash them. If you don't know these things, get a different book. But if you know the language but are new to MFC and the specifics of Visual C++, you'll find yourself able to put together a program in surprisingly short order.

At first, I was surprised and alarmed by the fact that it contained no CD of sample code like I'm used to seeing. But upon reflection, this makes perfect sense. Many of the nuances of working with Visual C++ and MFC are in working with the Visual Studio GUI and various wizards, and the chapters that concentrate on a topic take you through all the steps needed to create sample programs. The code that *is* used in the samples is inline in the chapter, but by creating it all yourself (rather than just opening a file on a CD), you get a feel for really using the tools.

Frankly, I always thought Visual C++ and MFC were really complicated to program in. If you know C++ pretty well, after you've worked through the chapters of this book that are relevant to whatever you're trying to program, it will be as easy as working in Visual Basic, and you'll still get all the power of a real programming language.

Of course, if you're looking to do low-level systems programming in Windows or tackle other advanced areas, this book isn't going to tell you how to do it. But it will make hooking up the front-end GUI, connecting to a standard ODBC database, and other common tasks quick and painless, so you can spend your time concentrating on the hard parts.

Visual C++ 6 Programming Blue Book nothing special, but can bought extremly cheaply. Usefil with the  version 6 of MS C++ compiler.  

Programming With Qt ~ Usually ships in 24 hours

Matthias Kalle Dalheimer / Paperback / Published 1999
Amazon price: $26.36 ~ You Save: $6.59 (20%)

 

**** Inside the C++ Object Model ~ Usually ships in 24 hours

Stanley B. Lippman / Paperback / Published 1996
Amazon Price : $34.95
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Created May 16, 1997; Last modified: July 07, 2013