Customer Reviews

The Beginner's Guide to C++ (Beginner's Guides)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I found this book very helpful, especially since I am truly a novice in programming. This book gives a good step-by-step explanation of the program examples. It is simple and not too technical. It gave me a jump start into other books that get deeper into C++ programming.I think it is a great starting tool if you have never programmed before! Highly recommended!

If you really want to program successfully, this is your book. This guy knows what he is doing and explains it in a clear, precise way. Ive bought a lot of programming books in the past, to name a few: C for dummies Volume 1 and 2(excellent), Teach yourself C in 21 days(intermediate/advanced), C++ for dummies(sucks), and many others. The Beginners Guide to C++ is by far the best one. Not only does the book explain how to do things almost perfectly, but it explains why and how it works. I won't say anymore, but let me end by saying I highly recommend this book and would buy any more books made by Yaroshenko.

I'm 15, and I understood evey concept in this book. I've read many others which confuse you with a lot of technical words, but not this one. They do define everything with the same technical jargan, but then they go back and explain all the examples almost line by line to show you how all the parts fit together. I would definately tell anyone interested in starting programming to use this book to build a rock-solid understanding of the workings of C++

This book is much better than the one I have to read for my C++ class. It goes more in depth with a lot of examples of code. They only thing I do not like about it is Oleg does not explain why a lot of the things are necassary. After playing around and doing other programs it became apparent, but it would have been nice to know why a pointer is good to have, etc... All in all a really decent book.

I am about 3/4 of the way through the book and find it a good source for first time C++ coders, and even more so for people with no prior C language experience. Although, having some experience is good. The book has some grammer and spelling errors, and even some errors in the sample code, but they are more of an annoyance than a learning show stopper, if you are paying attention. The way Oleg presents examples, showing multiple ways of defining and declaring variables, pointers, function, etc... is great, but I wish he would have explained in the begining in a little more detail that he was doing that, and included more comments to that effect in the sample code or discussions. I eventually picked up on this fact, and now look for where he does this. There are also style issues. He does not consistantly adhere to any one style of typing in his code. Although C/C++ is very flexible with white space, it is nice to learn good coding style, a style more or less standard in the industry would be even better. I believe a revision or two would make this book a five star choice, but as is, it is still a valuable learning tool.

Please note that I did not use the term 'beginners'. This book is an excellent resource for 'beginning programmers', that is, people who have had experience in easy languages such as LOGO or BASIC. I am a little over half-way through the book (will start OOP soon) and am amazed at how easy it is to understand. Although there aren't quizzes (here's the scenario, write a program), there are many perfectly written examples that guide the reader to understand what is going on, while at the same time learning new things. I love it how once you have learned a command or function he will give you what seems to be yet another example, but within the example is a brand new concept. It's amazing how Yaroshenko has devised such incredible book. As stated in the introduction, all you need to know to start reading is a basic knowledge of High School math and the will to get through a 500+ page book. Excellent work, Yaroshenko!

I have already taken a C++ course at a prominent university, but fealt that many basic concepts were missed.

I picked up this book to read and learn and "grasp" the topic better. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS BOOK HAS DONE FOR ME.

This is not a superficial covering of C++, in fact he dives into tough areas relatively quickly.

What seperates this book from others I have seen is his style. He writes quickly and simply about the topics at hand. There is a good deal of material packed into each chapter, but his readable style and constant use of "hands-on" examples doesn't leave your head spinning.

You can download all his code from a website, and follow along with the book. I only write when I hate something or love something. I LOVE THIS BOOK.

I hope this helps.

This is by far the WORST book I've read on programming. By the second chapter the book deviates from the ANSI C++ standard, using commands left over from C that can cause conflicts in more advanved programs, utilizes blatently sloppy programming technique (again okay for now- but will cause big problems later), and introduces very advanced concepts before the most basic of programming skills is mastered. My biggest problem with this text is that, to work properly, almost all of the example programs require header files that are not available in any standard distribution (g++, for example). What good is an example if you can't get it to work? I don't know who the above reviews came from- as an Engineering major at Duke University, I can now look back and wonder how I ever got anywhere trying to learn from this horrible book. My recommendation would be to go to your local college text book store and ask for whatever it is they use for introductory C++ programming. Good luck!

This book is still probably the best beginner's C++ book out there. Most books go through some example program and talk about it, but this book writes programs directly about the topic at hand. For example, in discussing ASCII codes, it creates an ASCII code table. And in discussing the main () function, it lists two functions in a program (including main()), each with different output, and suspense is created by making the reader wonder, "What will the output look like?" Many program outputs are not obvious, and Yaroshenko explains where and how compilation errors will occur. Some information given by the author is rare elsewhere. For example, what is a situation in which the main () function NOT preceeded by the word void? No other book has told me this answer. In addition, Yaroshenko throws in little sideline enhancements along the way, like formatted output.

You really come to understand how C++ will behave, and why you do certain quirky things in a C++ program (like, for example, why functions are declared before they are defined). Other books just don't give you such a thorough understanding, and the little suspenses in the book make it read almost like a novel.

However, I couldn't give it 5 stars because, as other reviewers have noted, it's quite dated and sorely in need of a second edition. The book was obviously written and edited very quickly. The most annoying problem is that Yaroshenko keeps referring to his programs with specific numbers ("In Program 6.5, we learned that..."), but none of the programs have titles, so you don't know what programs he's referring to unless you number them by yourself as you're reading (which isn't easy - there are lots of programs). Other specific examples: Yaro refers to an iteration variable "k" on page 167, but the program he's discussing only uses variables i and j (I think he meant j). Pages 179 and 181: Yaro has two very nice figures showing how character arrays work, except they are titled "int ABC [] = ..." rather than "char ABC []...".

So in summary, a great job writing the book, but a very poor job editing (only a computer book could get away with this). And having such a poorly edited book out on the market for so long without a new edition is nothing short of irresponsible on the part of Wrox Press.

The Good- This book is the best C++ book around. If you're looking to learn the fundamentals of c++ programming. You must get this book. It was the first programming book I ever bought, and its also the best book on the subject I've ever boughtt.

I don't know how Oleg does it. He takes a concept that is very hard to understand and translates it into pure simple understandable english. He also makes c++ FUN to learn. Most books on the subject matter at hand are sooooo stuffy, boring, and dry. Oleg's writing style is fresh and lively. He makes everything interesting.

This book definately takes a hands on approach. Sometimes you don't understand 100% what you are doing. That's ok however because he always answers the questions that you have, eventually. Sometimes it may take a few pages or even chapters to explain the answer in depth, but he will always address new information and make sure you have at least a basic understanding of it before moving on.

The Bad-

This book is getting to quite dated and so some information is a bit dated.

There are errors in the coding. On a few occasions there are listings that won't compile. A ";" has been forgotten or some other minor detail that could possibly frustrate a beginner. They are usually fairly easy to spot however and aren't that numerous.

His style is a bit spuradic(sp?). It's not that his style is bad, its just that he has inconsistancies that make his code hard to understand at times. I think that these are mainly to show the reader different ways people attack problems.

He doesn't use ANSCI standard. This to a beginner (like myself)doesn't really matter but the reader needs to be aware of this fact.

Overall this book will teach you the fundamentals and basics of c++ programming. It does have it's faults but they are minor and don't effect the learning process.