Customer Reviews

Building Business Applications Using C++: An Introduction to the Object Model

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Nice diagrams, slick paper and trendy typesetting. Otherwise, this book is HORRID. What is worse is the back cover promotes the feature: "Assumes no prior programming knowledge." And the sarcastic retort could be "Because if you knew better, in no way would you select this book." The book's presentation obfuscates C++ concepts in a way that can seriously impair a beginner programmer. Difficult concepts are introduced before fundamentals. There are MANY major and minor procedural flaws throughout the book. The minor ones tend to be imperceptible unless you already have some experience with the language -- which makes it even more frustrating because you need to constantly correct the text. Maybe this is part of the ""holistic"" approach the text tries to sell. Simple concepts are for some reason rendered tightly knotted due to the author's poor compositional and organizational style. It is clear though that the author does not have thorough knowledge of the topic and does not understand basic concepts of mathematics. Furthermore, in an effort to clarify a difficult concept, the author frequently leads the reader through a morass of disjointedly digressive analogy, leaving the reader wondering what the heck is going. As an example, the author on Headers: "Although one header can be included in many different files, it is wrong to include a header more than once in the same file. Even if we take care to write the #include directive only once, we still can't be sure that the header is not included more than once in a file. We could have indirectly included the header another time without realizing it. By analogy, just because you didn't directly tell someone a secret about yourself, it doesn't mean they don't know it. You could have told someone, who then told someone else..." Imagine every other page with this kind of style. Imagine the worst most confusing 'instructor' you had in college. Then imagine he/she authored a book on C++ in an effort to secure tenure. Well, then, here it is. And fault Addison-Wesley for not peer-reviewing this text THOROUGHLY. This book is a well-polished zero.

(Revised version) Professor Lucy Garnett's book is a great introduction to understanding what Object Oriented Programming is in general and what C++ is in particular. Before I read Professor Garnett's book, I could not really grasp the overall picture of what Object Oriented Programming and C++ are all about. No book is perfect, but where this book truly excels is in getting the reader (especially a beginner to C++) to think in terms of how to BEGIN to go about understanding C++ and designing a C++ application. I read some of the negative reviews written about this book and it saddens me BECAUSE this book had and is having a very positive impact on my understanding of C++. I also think that some of the negative criticism is not justified BECAUSE the readers were looking for something different than what the author is truly offering.

I feel that Professor Garnett provided a more personal touch (complete with comic strips, homemade diagrams, pictures, and an eye marker). You guys may think I'm a little off, but I really love those diagrams of the various factories. REASON: I feel the author provided them because she cared so much that readers would be able to grasp the concepts she is covering. Professor Garnett's book provided ME with homemade wholesome food with true flavor rather than processed, completely structured, and dried-up fare that you can get from many other fast-food and not-so-fast-food type books.

I also want to say that I have looked through a number of other books on C++ and quite a few of them are much less readable and understandable than Professor Garnett's book is. It seems to me that this author went to great lengths to make people understand C++ and want to learn C++. In addition, none of the other books gave me anywhere near as good an overall view of what C++ is all about -- in terms of introducing a beginning student to C++. Hope more of you feel the same way. Robert Kayton

Had a very hard time with this book. Not good at introducing new topics clearly. Too limited in scope while providing too much depth in some areas that are not clearly explained.

Not a terrible book but my opinion is it is not for beginning programmers. I found this edition in a bargain bin and chose it for its focus on modeling of finance-associated object types and transactions. It has some detailed examples that are interesting and helpful. Some programming concepts do appear confused or in error but they are not difficult to discern. Will be useful for intermediate programmers. A CD with example source code would be helpful. Developing the book to suit the needs of a professional audience may be another idea. The cartoons are inconsequential and a waste of space. The diagrams are helpful. Would not recommend this as a self-study text to inexperienced programmers unless more comprehensive and accurate main text is utilized. Taken the way it as an introductory text it has a severe shortage of examples.

i got assigned this book for a second level programming class. Its awful and confusing and at times bewildering. Most of the class is complaining abou t it right now and we will probably switch to a different text. If we don't I will probably drop the god forsaken course.

I got this to get a feel of business related programming. I read through three chapters, chapters that I understood beforehand and it made me confused about what I knew if you know what I mean. The material is mashed together. Its hard at times to understand what the author is trying to say and at times it seem she does not know what is going on. I would say try another book although theres not much out there on this topic I think I did return the book though.

This book was really confusing. I returned it after trying for about a week and bought a few used books by Sams. I don't recommend this book to anyone.

I am a student from Baruch college (CUNY), where prof.Garnet teaches object-oriented programing. I was "lucky" enough to use this book. EVERYONE I repeat EVERYONE in the class was complaining to her about this book. First of all it has a lot of mistakes. Second this book is very confusing and hard to follow. The first 5 chapters are very difficult to follow for someone who is only a beginer. She starts the book by telling you what polymorphism is and what does class inheritance mean, when you really want to know what the programing is all about. It has very few examples. I strongly recomend for you not to buy this book

This is a very good book if you are are new to C++ or Object Oriented Programming. The first few chapters may seem intimidating to the first-time reader or to someone who has had no prior programming experience. Don't loose hope, it all falls in place as you move along. I would have given it 5 stars if not for a couple of typos. It is not a reference book if you are looking for one. It is more for people who like I said are new to programming.

Tini Korah Programmer/Analyst GS Technologies

This is the book I used to learn C++. I found this book extremely usefull. It gives you a very good understanding of the basics of Object Oriented Programming before going on to explaining how to write code. Can seem a little bit intimidating for the first time reader, but as you progress through the chapters things fall in place. I would have given it 5 stars in not for a couple of typos which need correction. Over all I would say it is an excellent book to start you on a journey into the great world of C++ programming

Tini Korah Programmer/Analyst Goldman Sachs