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The C++ Programming Language (Special 3rd Edition) (Hardcover)
by Bjarne Stroustrup
| Category:
C++ language, Software development, IT, Technology |
| Market price: ¥ 678.00
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¥ 668.00
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| MSL Pointer Review:
Presents the complete C++ language and a discussion of design and software development issues. Provides an emphasis on tutorial aspects aimed at the serious programmer. |
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Author: Bjarne Stroustrup
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Pub. in: February, 2000
ISBN: 0201700735
Pages: 911
Measurements: 9.5 x 7.7 x 1.7 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00542
Other information: 3 edition
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- MSL Picks -
This is a complete rewrite of the most widely read and most trusted book on C++. Based on the ANSI/ISO C++ final draft, this book covers the C++ language, its standard library, and key design techniques as an integrated whole. The C++ Programming Language provides comprehensive coverage of C++ language features and standard library components. With this third edition, Stroustrup makes C++ even more accessible to those new to the language while adding information and techniques that even expert C++ programmers will find invaluable.
The C++ Programming Language is ideal for those potential buyers who already know 75% of what is written in the book. But please note that this is not necessarily a put-down or a bad thing. This book is reference material for people who are already familiar with the concepts and syntax of C++. If you're looking to learn C++ from scratch, then run far and run quickly away from this book. On the other hand, if you're an experienced coder who's looking to remember specific details, or an intermediate who's looking for some nitty-gritty information, then this is a highly recommended reference book.
The writing is meticulous and often obscure. But Stroustrup packs in a lot of detail into every page. The example code is short and to the point. He assumes that if you don't get what he's talking about the first time, then further examples aren't going to help; and most of the time this assumption is justified, as his terse code manages to convey everything that it needs to.
You really do need to have experience with C++ to understand a lot of his examples though, as often he will casually mention a concept or function that he won't get around to defining for another few hundred pages. After all, most of the features in C++ interact heavily with other functions, so it's not really possible to explain some things without explaining their relationships (even if they are relating to things that the text has not yet brought up). But, as I said, this is reference material, and such conventions are allowable and, at times, encouraged. I am much happier with a book like this that gives me all of the detail necessary than an introductory book that would only offer simplistic explanations in the beginning while holding out for the details towards the end.
The book covers virtually every major aspect of the C++ programming language. While everything is richly explained, I find the sections on the standard containers and their iterators to be particularly enlightening. There is a lot of overlap inherent in these concepts, but each individual portion is clearly and unambiguously explained. The sections on pointers, classes, and inheritance are similarly helpful. But, to be honest, there is no reason for me to list everything that the book explains, because it literally contains everything; if it's not in the book, then in all likelihood it's not in the language either.
The C++ Programming Language is a dense book and is packed to the gills with invaluable information and a fair bit of insight. As the inventor of the C++ language itself, Stroustrup is the closest person to the actual syntax, and short of reading the ISO spec, you simply won't find a more compre- hensive tome on the subject. Remember, if you're a beginner, stay away. If you're experienced or you plan on being so, then you need to own this book today.
(From quoting Publisher and Andrew McCaffrey, USA)
Target readers:
C++ programmers, computer Science majors, people interested in learning C++, and university lecturers.
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Bjarne Stroustrup is the designer and original implementor of C++ and the author of The C++ Programming Language (first edition 1985, second edition 1991, third edition 1997), The Annotated C++ Reference Manual, and The Design and Evolution of C++. A graduate of the University of Aarhus, Denmark, and Cambridge University, England, Dr. Stroustrup is currently the head of AT&T Labs' Large-Scale Programming Research Department, an AT&T Fellow, an AT&T Bell Laboratories Fellow, and an ACM fellow. His research interests include distributed systems, operating systems, simulation, design, and programming. He is Editor for Addison-Wesley's C++ In-Depth Series.
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From Al Stevens, USA
Bjarne Stroustrup's The C++ Programming Language, Third Edition (Addison-Wesley, 1997) has been available for several months. This work, by the creator of C++, is the definitive treatment of the subject and has been since its first edition in 1987. I must confess that I did not care for the first edition. I had expected a tutorial approach as elegant as the classic K&R white book. But then, K&R was about C, a programming language that supported a familiar programming model. The C++ programming model was new to most of us ten years ago, and Stroustrup's first edition was daunting, to say the least. Looking at it now, I find it far less so and much easier to read.
Comparing the first and third editions of The C++ Programming Language provides insight into how the C++ language has grown and changed in the past decade. The third edition has almost three times the number of pages and a slightly different organization. Whereas the first edition included a 67-page language reference manual at the end, the third edition includes only a language grammar section to represent formal language definition. This is appropriate. The ANSI/ISO Standard document, which is now the formal language and library definition, is itself about 750 pages long. Stroustrup plans to publish The Annotated C++ Language Standard (coauthored by Andrew Koenig, the ANSI C++ committee's Project Editor) sometime this year.
The third edition takes a tutorial approach with many of Stroustrup's personal programming philosophies. The author's explanations of how he uses language features provide examples for learning the behavior of those features. He also explains code idioms that some programmers routinely use but that he finds inappropriate.
As much as possible, the third edition reflects Standard C++. When small language features are found to be missing, particularly new ones, Stroustrup pledges to add them to a future printing...
This book is an essential addition to a C++ programmer's library. It is not for dummies, and it wouldn't be my first choice for an entry-level, self-help tutorial on C++ for beginning programmers. It is, however, an excellent textbook for programmers who are self-motivated and students who study under the watchful care of a skilled instructor. As an experienced C++ programmer, I find the book useful as a reference to language usage and behavior. The author invented the language and then stayed close to the standardization and innovation process for the duration, always maintaining a careful vigilance over the evolution of his brainchild. Consequently, this book serves, for those who do not care to pore over the ANSI/ISO document (or the promised annotated version), as the authority on the Standard C++ language, how it works, and how you should use it.
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Programming is understanding. - Kristen Nygaard
I find using C++ more enjoyable than ever. C++'s support for design and programming has improved dramatically over the years, and lots of new helpful techniques have been developed for its use. However, C++ is not just fun. Ordinary practical programmers have achieved significant improvements in productivity, maintainability, flexibility, and quality in projects of just about any kind and scale. By now, C++ has fulfilled most of the hopes I originally had for it, and also succeeded at tasks I hadn't even dreamt of.
This book introduces standard C++* and the key programming and design techniques supported by C++. Standard C++ is a far more powerful and polished language than the version of C++ introduced by the first edition of this book. New language features such as name spaces, exceptions, templates, and run-time type identification allow many techniques to be applied more directly than was possible before, and the standard library allows the programmer to start from a much higher level than the bare language.
About a third of the information in the second edition of this book came from the first. This third edition is the result of a rewrite of even larger magnitude. It offers something to even the most experienced C++ programmer; at the same time, this book is easier for the novice to approach that its predecessors were. The explosion of C++ use and the massive amount of experience accumulated as a result makes this possible.
The definition of an extensive standard library makes a difference to the way C++ concepts can be presented. As before, this book presents C++ independently of any particular implementation, and as before, the tutorial chapters present language constructs and concepts in a "bottom up" order so that a construct is used only after it has been defined. However, it is much easier to use a well-designed library than it is to understand the details of its implementation. Therefore the standard library can be used to provide realistic and interesting examples well before a reader can be assumed to understand its inner workings. the standard library itself is also a fertile source of programming examples and design techniques.
This book presents every major C++ language feature and the standard library. It is organized around language and library facilities. However, features are presented in the context of their use. That is, the focus is on the language as the tool for design and programming rather than on the language in itself. This book demonstrates key techniques that make C++ effective and teaches the fundamental concepts necessary for mastery. Except where illustrating technicalities, examples are taken from the domain of systems software. A companion, The Annotated C++ Language Standard, presents the complete language definition together with annotations to make it more comprehensible.
The primary aim of this book is to help the reader understand how the facilities offered by C++ support key programming techniques. The aim is to take the reader far beyond the point where he or she gets code running primarily by copying examples and emulation programming styles from other languages. Only a good understanding of the ideas behind the language facilities leads to mastery. Supplemented by implementation documentation, the information provided is sufficient for completing significant real-world projects. The hope is that this book will help the reader gain new insights and become a better programmer and designer.
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| View all 16 comments |
A French reader (MSL quote), France
<2007-01-11 00:00>
Although, I would not recommend this book to complete beginners, it can be used successfully to learn the language. This was the required text in my first C++ class, but I had already a good grasp of Java, C and nasm before taking this class.
This book is clear and concise. There is no superfluous code in here like inferior books like Deital has: a 3 page program to explain one or two concepts. The code in this book is to the point and shows exactly what it means to in a very clear way. This conciseness allows more information then would be believable in another text of this size. This book covers more then Deitals does in a fraction of the pages, and is more accurate.
If you are beginner, chose a compiler and learn the basics of compiling on it, which is easy. Then pick up Accelerated C++ by Keonig and Moo and avoid the crappy for dummies type books put out by authors like Deital and Schildt. After you go through Accelerated C++, pick up this book and The C++ Standard Library by Josuttis. These three books will serve you well, and take you far, and the last two will forever be by your side as long as you write C++ code. |
Patrick Cozzi (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-11 00:00>
This is not an introductory programming book. This is a book about what C++ has to offer and how to best take advantage of it. It will be most useful to people that already know another language (C would make your life the easiest) and want to learn C++.
The first three chapters do a great job introducing the major facilities of C++ and how to think in C++ terms. The coverage of different programming paradigms will be useful to all developers. Also, the material on inheritance and multiple inheritance in particular, is clear and insightful.
This book is an excellent tutorial and reference. Though it is dense reading and the code examples are typically short but not inadequate. You may also have some trouble jumping around to a particular section as the examples often build from previous sections. But it is easy to backtrack to get the big picture.
Anyone writing nontrivial C++ applications should read this book. |
Xu Ke (MSL quote), China
<2007-01-11 00:00>
My suggestion is, before reading this book, you not only need to have a lot of programming experience, but you'd better have knowledge about the theories of programming language and compiler too. I've seen people who already know C and Java and have read tens of thousands lines of code being frequently frustrated when reading this book just because the lack of the aforementioned skills. Spending a whole night just to understand 3 pages is not uncommon for a not completely untrained beginner like the one mentioned above. So if you don't want your confidence to be quashed, think twice before reading it. But this is no way the book's fault. |
Soren Meyer (MSL quote), Germany
<2007-01-11 00:00>
You are a C++ programmer - you own this book. If you don't, buy it, buy it right now. This is the reference work on C++, written by the original creator of the language himself: Bjarne Stroustrup. Although this isn't a book for beginners the text is very readable and concise. I particularly liked the code examples he gives, because they are not of your usual 'hello world' text book quality, but rather examples taken from the real world. He also doesn't commit the crime of many authors of presenting code with remarks like this: "this is not the way you should do it, you'll learn the correct way later". Bjarne isn't the die-hard, everything must be object oriented type of guy (that is a good thing!), thus presenting the more traditional style of procedural programming first. While still taking advantage of the OO facilities of C++, like stream IO for example, he doesn't overwhelm you with the responsibility of designing proper classes from page one. In the more philosophical chapters about design and 'the importance of the individual' the author demonstrates a very rational, non-preaching point of view backed up with lots of real world experience.
No compromises, this book is a must have. |
View all 16 comments |
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