Customer Reviews

C++: The Complete Reference, 4th Edition

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

My older references are in storage and I thought it would be neat to have a c++ ref on my kindle. It says reference and the reviews are good, so I bought it.

I wanted to be reminded of how to use variable numbers of parameters for macro defines. Forget whether this is a good idea. It's a language feature and I want to know how it works.

#define with parameters is handled in one paragraph which doesn't even include the possibility of multiple parameters, let alone any details. Given this, I was curious to see if there was any discussion of the continuation-line functionality in the preprocessor. Nope. Not there.

I'm sure this is a wonderful c++ primer as the other reviews indicate. My spot check demonstrates that this is in no way a complete reference.

Even if you don't like a coding style, completeness allows you to read the code of others.

So I'm out $28 bucks and my question isn't answered. oh well.

I'm a developer who understands basic C++ concepts. I bought this book so that I could understand more advanced features of the language, and I've found it sorely lacking. Most topics are covered briefly and show only extremely obvious examples, which are not helpful in understanding the mechanisms involved.

This book may have some value for programmers new to C++, but its claim to be a "complete reference" is a wild exaggeration.

Herbert Schildt's "C++: The Complete Reference" is a gargantuan tome indeed. It fully covers the C++ syntax, and gives useful, working examples that demonstrate each of the language's features. If you're a professional (or hobbyist) working on a project and need to quickly look up how to use some part of C++ syntax, then this book is absolutely perfect. If you're a developer who has spent his/her life working in C and want to (or need to!) learn C++, then you'll find this book's content well organized and you'll be able to find what you need instantly.

Also, this book seems as though it could function as a tutorial for the complete beginner. Now, I didn't learn C++ from this book initially, so I can't really speak from experience, but the book DOES cover the entire syntax and it does so in an unpretentious and very clear manner. The only thing that it's missing for newbies is exercises -- but if you're really serious, you'll make up your own little tasks, or try to extend/modify the examples.

I program video games as a hobby and have used this as a reference countless times in various projects. I've obviously bought other reference books ("C++ in a Nutshell", and Stroustrup's tome), but I find that this book is my most used and most beloved reference.

So, if you're looking for a clear, easy to understand reference on C++, I reccomend this tome. If you're a true C++ neophyte, then perhaps you should purchase this book along with Schildt's "C++: A beginner's Guide" or "C++ from the Ground Up" (also by Schildt).

By "all" I mean the John Smith who has never programmed in his like and the Jake Smith who is proffessional developer for Nintendo/Sony. Seriously, this book basically covers every single aspect of C++ and descibes everything in a clear and easy to undestand manner. It's great to learn programming with, and it's also great whenever you need to look up a function or a how to do something.

I found the book incredibly useful even when making really complicated programs because of the fact that it has evrything in it! (It's really hard to stress that point enough.) Seriously, if you're getting a C++ book you are planning on using, you really should get this book. It's nice.

I would give the book 3.5 stars, but we live in a world of integer stars so there goes a four star.
This is a fairly good tutorial for C++, and it does also a fairly good job as a reference. Nevertheless it absolutely fails to be a complete reference.

1. One *very important* weekness I see in this book is its utter lack of explanation on the compiler options, and how to link programs. It simply does not even mention how to create your own header files, or link libraries. This is unforgivable for a book that claims to be a complete reference.

2. The repetition of the descriptions of STL libraries like vector, string and maps is completely unnecessary. In my opinion it would be much more efficient to first introduce in depth the concepts of the STL which are hardest to chew for beginners (i.e. iterators, containers, allocators, function objects, adaptors and binders) and then describe the container classes sequentially instead of scattering descriptions over chapters 24 to 38. Furthermore, the behavior of many members of the STL libraries are exactly the same (i.e. put_back() will do the same regardless of the container), synthesizing those common features in the introduction of the STL would be extremely beneficial and it would save at least 150 pages of this book.

3. There is no mention in the book of important vanguard topics like using the BOOST library or how to include graphics libraries.

4. No mention on how to embed code, except for how to use the keyword extern in one short paragraph.

5. It would be nice if the book dedicated at least one chapter to good coding practices to improve readability (i.e. how to organize classes, aligning text in definitions, aligning parameters in functions, etc.).

6. It would be very useful to have at least one chapter on multithreading and parallel computing in C++ as they are very important for complex applications and scientific computing, especially when time consuming computations are involved.

In summary, I believe the name of the book should be "The complete Beginner's Reference" and restructure all chapters after number 24. The book is still a good starting point to learn C++, and even to use it as a good reference, but it would be really good to include some new topics in it.

The first thing you should understand when approaching C++: The Complete Reference is that it is not intended to teach you how to program. As the title would suggest, this book is a comprehensive reference into the features of the C++ language. That is not to say that you can't learn C++ from this book, but if you are looking for an introduction to the language you would probably be better served with purchasing C++ How to Program or another book that adopts more of a teaching style than what you will find in Herbert Schildt's.

However, if you are looking for a book where you can quickly refresh on a topic, find out syntax for a particular casting operator or how to initialize an esoteric function you thought you would never use, this book will never leave the side of your keyboard. I have owned two copies of the Complete C++ Reference. My copy of the third edition has been highlighted, dog eared and had pages copied so many times it's bindings are more or less gone(not that this is indicative of the books quality, just my frequent abuse of it). My 4th edition copy is well on it's way to looking like the other one as there is not a day that goes by I don't open it up for something.

The book begins with a comprehensive overview of the C language, wholly separated from any C++ concepts. This section concludes around one quarter of the way through and the real meat of the book begins. After giving a birds-eye view of the C++ language, Schildt dives straight into classes and doesn't look back. Every topic is hit with vigor and tenacity until the C++ section of the book is complete. The next three hundred pages are dedicated to the STL and standard function library. Both of these sections are about as complete as it gets without getting a dedicated book on the topic(these do exist). The standard fuction library section is an excellent quick hit reference with function prototypes, a quick description of the function and the related functions arranged into chapters for ease of use. The last of the book's real content is in two excellent exercise chapters where the author goes through the process of creating your own string and parser classes. Both chapters are a joy to read with special attention paid to the design of these classes rather than merely being a code dump. After completing both, you should have a real understanding of how to create your own new data types in a way that falls in line with C++ concepts.

To the reviewers who have given this book a bad rating based on perceived incompleteness, I am really not certain what more the author can do. At around 1000 pages the book is already massive. However, given the complexities of the C++ language, there is bound to be one or two things that slip through the cracks. When you can find books that only focus on one aspect of the C++ language that easily span hundreds of pages, to expect this book to cover literally every topic on C++ is a fairly unreasonable expectation. For most users there will never be a language feature you will use that is not covered in detail in this book. If there is, it will be such an infrequent occurrence that you can forgive the author for not including it.

The one problem I do have with this book is that it is beginning to show it's age a bit. This is perhaps best illustrated in the supplemental chapter on the managed c++ extensions. Microsoft has declared these extensions deprecated in favor of C++/CLI. While this section is only four pages, it is nevertheless a reminder that this book is now several years old. You will find no information on the upcoming C++ standard anywhere in this book, and with the new language features, this will be a problem in the future. That being said, the current version does give you a wealth of information on the current ISO standard which will remain relevant even when the new standard is finalized. This edition will serve you well until the inevitable 5th edition is released in the future. Even with these minor complaints the book easily earns five stars. This is especially reflected in it's low price compared to many other programming books of lesser quality. If you are going to purchase one C++ book that will last you all the way through school or your career, C++: The Complete Reference deserves your full consideration.

It appears to be a good reference for intermediate level programmers. It is concise and illuminates most aspects of the C++ programming language with a good foundational introduction into C programming language.

I have been using this book for a couple of months and it is a fantastic reference, rarely leaving me confused or missing the information I was searching for. My only problem with the book is the speed at which the book binding deteriorated, leaving me with several loose pages.

I would recommend something a little bit lighter for beginners, but I highly recommend this book for any competent C++ programmer.

I bought this book quite some time back. I learned C++ at the age of 12, and this was an incredible help in learning C++ during my teenage years! I'm now 24 and always remember this book in particular as an aide in learning C++.

I am a professional developer and learned C++ with the 2nd edition of this book. The 4th edition is even better because it covers the international standardized version of C++ and the STL (standard template library).

If you want to learn C++ (either from scratch or if you already know "C"), then this is the book you want. The organization of the material is excellent, and is subdivided into chapters on plain "C" programming and then chapters on "C++" specific programming. It gives clear explanations and simple examples of every concept, starting from your first "C" program all the way to the most sophisticated features of C++.

There is no better C++ tutorial or reference on the market.