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From: jimad@microsoft.UUCP (Jim ADCOCK)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: Need advice on C++ books (sorry if this is a FAQ)
Message-ID: <71573@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 28 Mar 91 20:24:29 GMT
References: <1991Mar21.194608.19265@ccu.umanitoba.ca> <1063@optima.cs.arizona.edu>
Reply-To: jimad@microsoft.UUCP (Jim ADCOCK)
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Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA
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In article <1063@optima.cs.arizona.edu> robert@cs.arizona.edu (Robert J. Drabek) writes:
|I would like to hear some comments about the various C++ texts.  I need
|to order books for a class in which the language is used; the orders
|were due yesterday.  I was planning on going with the Stroustrup book.
|It is rather complete, but is like K & R--if you know what you are
|looking for it's probably there.  But for beginners, a different text
|would seem to be needed.

Which of the three Stroustrup books are you referring to?

1) "The C++ Programming Language" 1986

2) "The Annotated C++ Reference Manual" 1990

3) "The C++ Programming Language, 2nd Edition" 1991

I don't know if #3 is available yet, but #1 is so out of date in terms of
language features that I would not recommend it, except as a historical
reference.  If or When #3 is available, it will be about twice as long as
#1, and I have no doubt it will be must reading for all C++ programmers!

|So, a book offering more examples, clearer explanations is desired.
|Any suggestions?  

FAQ Answer:

		A Short List of Preferred C++ Texts

With the size of the C++ community continuing to double about every
nine months, many C++ programmers haven't had a chance to complete
their C++ bookshelf.  The below "Short List" of C++ texts attempts
to list favorite C++ texts in many categories, in approximately the
order a new C++ programmer might wish to acquire the texts.  A few good
texts don't appear in this list because they closely overlap other,
more preferred texts in this list.  Specialized texts, not applicable 
to most C++ programmers are not listed here, primarily because I have
not read all, but also because this is intended to be a "short list."

Teach Yourself C++, Stevens, MIS Press 1990, ISBN 1-558-28027-8
	A raw neophyte should be able to breeze through this text
	and example software in about a day.

A C++ Primer, Lippman, Addison-Wesley 1989, 0-201-16487-6
	The most common text to learn C++ from.  Best coverage of
	multiple inheritence.

	[the publishers catalog shows the 2nd edition to be available
	 in 1991.  But, if you must purchase before then, the 1st edition
	 is still close enough to being up-to-date to make it well-
	 worthwile] 

The Annotated C++ Reference Manual, Ellis & Stroustrup, Addison-Wesley 1990
	0-201-51459-1.  Much more than you ever wanted to know about the
	intimate details of the language, and why.  Today's definitive
	answer about what is, or isn't in the language -- excepting 
	[small] changes coming from the ANSI committee.

The C++ Answer Book, Hansen, Addison-Wesley 1989, 0-201-11497-6
	Lots of good, small, ADT-like examples of C++ programming.
	The best reference on how to write little classes like Int,
	string, vector, etc.

Data Abstraction and Object Oriented Programming in C++,  
	Gorlen, Orlow & Plexico, John Wiley, 0-471-92346-X
	The best reference on how to write big, "Smalltalk-like" 
	classes relying on polymophism, a common base class, 
	dynamic type casting, etc.

The C++ Programming Language, Strustrup, Addison Wesley 1986, 0-201-12078-X
	The historical reference of where the language is coming from,
	and the way C++ compilers used to behave prior even to release "1.2"
	Please use Strustrup's newer text above to answer fine grain
	details about what the language is suppose to be! [until this
	text can be updated.]

	[the publisher's catalog shows the 2nd edition to be available
	 in 1991.  When it comes out -- get it!]

An Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming, Budd, Addison-Wesley 1991,
	0-201-54709-0.  An excellent, and pleasantly unbiased introduction
	to OOP, covering a number of languages including C++.

Object Oriented Design with Applications, Booch, Benjamin/Cummings 1991,
	0-8053-0091-0.  The most widely regarded text about what it means
	to design object oriented software.

Object Orientation: Concepts, Languages, Databases, User Interfaces,
	Khoshafian & Abnous, John Wiley 1990, 0-471-51801-8.  A survey
	of the object oriented world, and the best description of
	databases and issues of object identity.

Supplemental Readings:

USENIX C++ Workshops and Conferences
OOPSLA Conference Proceedings
The C++ Report
Journal of Object Oriented Programming
comp.lang.c++
comp.std.c++
comp.object

Good Luck!