Programming Principles and Practice Using C++

Index by Subject

• Bjarne Stroustrup
• Addison Wesley
• 9780321543721

This is a "beginners" programming book for C++. It's about 1200 pages, and that alone probably made its first editors wince. Big books are expensive to produce and end up carrying big price tags. The editors surely groaned in pain when told that the author also intended to use color liberally throughout the text - and not just as informative markers here and there, but also for photographs! That costs even more production money.

If the editors had such feelings, they probably had to keep their mouths firmly shut. You know the phrase "He wrote the book on it?". Well, in the world of C++, Bjarne Stroustrup not only wrote the book (The C++ Programming Language), he also wrote the C++ language itself. I imagine that if he had wanted it bound in leather and gold leaf, that's what would have happened.

Really, this is a programming course that happens to use C++ as its language. It is simply superb - so good that you might want it even if you have already learned C++. Yes, it's really that good.

It's written in a conversational style, first person, with plenty of advice, warnings, intelligence and even humor. I just got this a day or so ago; obviously I haven't pored through every page, but I've read enough and skimmed enough else to suspect that this is destined to become a classic.

Did you wonder why they'd be photographs in a programming book? Because it includes a "Programming language history overview" - just one of the many things you wouldn't expect. As noted, this uses color effectively and liberally, but I think the most important thing is that it is definitely NOT a dry, boring, pedantic "learning programming" book. This book is alive with color, and I don't just mean the ink that may have caused groans from the editors and accountants.

Very, very good. No hesitation in recommending this one.

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