The Annotated C++ Reference Manual [Paperback]

Margaret A. Ellis (Author), Bjarne Stroustrup (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201514591 | ISBN-13: 978-0201514599 | Publication Date: January 11, 1990

This book provides a complete reference for the C++ programming language. It consists of the C++ reference manual, approved as the base document for ANSI standardization of the language, plus annotations and commentary. The annotations and commentary discuss what is not included in the language, why certain features are defined as they are, and how one might implement particular features. The commentaries also help the reader to understand the relationships between parts of the language. Comparisons with C and examples explain the more subtle points of the language. Sixteen chapters cover the latest version of C++ including multiple inheritance, abstract classes, templates, exception handling, and more. A final chapter describes resolutions by the ANSI/ISO committee including new features such as run-time type information and namespaces. Appendices summarize the grammar and evolution of the language, and explain in detail the differences between C and C++. The Annotated C++ Reference Manual will appeal to language implementors and expert C++ programmers. 0201514591B04062001

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

This book provides a complete language reference for the expert C++ user. It consists of the C++ reference manual plus annotations and commentary sections.

The C++ reference manual alone provides a complete definition of C++, but the terse reference manual style leaves many reasonable questions unanswered. Discussions of what is not in the language, why certain features are defined as they are, and how one might implement some particular feature have no place in a reference manual but are nevertheless of interest to most users. Such discussions are presented as annotations and in the commentary sections.

The commentary also helps the reader appreciate the relationships among different parts of the language and emphasizes points and implications that might have been overlooked in the reference manual itself. Examples and comparisons with C also make this book more approachable than the bare reference manual.

This book does not provide information about standard libraries beyond discussion of the library functions providing the most basic run-time support nor does it discuss C++ programming styles or techniques. Furthermore, this book does not attempt to teach C++ programming; it explains what the language is--not how to use it.

The index and the cross references embedded in the commentary and in the reference manual itself are important and integral parts of the book.

We hope that this reference manual will provide a firm base for further evolution of C++. It has been chosen by ANSI to serve as a starting point for the formal standardization of C++.

Margaret A. Ellis
Bjarne Stroustrup
Murray Hill, New Jersey 0201514591P04062001

From the Back Cover

This book provides a complete reference for the C++ programming language. It consists of the C++ reference manual, approved as the base document for ANSI standardization of the language, plus annotations and commentary.

The annotations and commentary discuss what is not included in the language, why certain features are defined as they are, and how one might implement particular features. The commentaries also help the reader to understand the relationships between parts of the language. Comparisons with C and examples explain the more subtle points of the language.

Sixteen chapters cover the latest version of C++ including multiple inheritance, abstract classes, templates, exception handling, and more. A final chapter describes resolutions by the ANSI/ISO committee including new features such as run-time type information and namespaces. Appendices summarize the grammar and evolution of the language, and explain in detail the differences between C and C++.

The Annotated C++ Reference Manual will appeal to language implementors and expert C++ programmers.

0201514591B04062001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (January 11, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201514591
• ISBN-13: 978-0201514599
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #346,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > C > Language

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Outdated, January 6, 2001

By 

Stephen Daly (Rehoboth Beach, De) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Annotated C++ Reference Manual (Paperback)

This book was fairly complete at the time of its publication, but there have been so many significant improvements and new approaches to the C++ language that the book is outdated. I'd recommend this book only to people who are interested in a historical collection of C++ documents.

I'd recommend any of the other Stroustrup books. "The C++ Programming Language," (3rd edition) is the closest thing to a bible for the language. (Don't buy the 1st or 2nd edition--they're also outdated. If you want a hard-covered reference, the "Special Edition" is a hardcovered 3rd edition.) I'd recommend "The Design and Evolution of C++," which is slightly outdated but both imformative and instructional to experienced C++ programmers.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best C++ language reference, July 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Annotated C++ Reference Manual (Paperback)

This book is suitable for intermediate to advanced C++ programmers and provides clear guidance on the rules that make up the language. It's not always an easy read, but then the language it describes is not an easy language. There is no other book I know of that describes the language itself as accurately and in as much depth as this. But if you want information about the standard C++ library (the STL, for example) you will be disappointed - this is not what this book is about. In that case try Stroustrup's 'The C++ Language' (3rd edition), which also happens to be a year or so more up to date than this book - important given that that year saw the language standardized at last. That said, for my money Stroustrup's solo affair still isn't as good on the core language as this book. If you are a professional C++ programmer, you need this book.

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Outdated, January 2, 2000

By 

Charles Landau (California foothills) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Annotated C++ Reference Manual (Paperback)

A good reference in its time, this book does NOT describe the latest (November 1997) C++ language standard.