Customer Reviews

C++ for Dummies

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

I've been looking for just the right introduction to programming for some time. I've spent more than a dozen hours combing through the shelves in my local Borders and B&N, skimming over 50 so-called "introductory" texts, looking for one that I could really learn from. By way of background, I am an advanced computer user/tinkerer, but I'm completely inexperienced in the field of programming -- never so much as typed a lick of code.

In reviewing other books, I didn't want to start with a book about C, because conventional wisdom says that it's a bad idea to start with C (a procedural language) if you plan to use it to jumpstart a study of C++ or java (hybrid OOP languages). I also didn't want to start with a book on QBasic, because it seems to me that the language is pretty much obsolete. For me, I wanted to learn OOP, and that meant a commitment to C++ and/or java (preferably both, as each has its strengths and weaknesses, and they are similar and popular enough to study together).

That said, I looked at somewhat advanced introductory books by Deitel, Savitch, and Horton, all of which are extremely well-reviewed here on Amazon. I also looked at several books from Microsoft Press, as I planned on learning by using components of the Visual Studio. Horton's Beginning C++ came close, but its massive size and more advanced approach left me looking for a different introductory text (I plan on returning to Horton's book though, to supplement what I learn from Mr. Davis' book).

Finally, this new edition of C++ for Dummies came out just in time. This book really hits the mark on many levels: (1) it assumes no knowledge of programming; (2) it does a great job of explaining truly complex topics without going overboard or hitting you over the head; (3) it is clear and entertaining; and (4) it is new and compliant with the latest standards, which is more than I can say for books written, say, pre-1998.

Do yourself a favor -- if you have no programming experience and want to learn a cutting edge OOP language like C++ or java, start here, then use that knowledge to branch out to more advanced material. Personally, I'm supplementing this reading with Horton's Beginning C++ and Beginning Java 2 (JDK 1.3 Version), and Bruce Eckel's highly praised Thinking in Java.

Good luck!

Background (why you might care what I think): I've programmed and taught programming for 20+ years, in time migrating to C++.

The title, of course, is an oxymoron: You are mistaken if you think you can master C++ without sooner or later being able to chew your way through the following:

"It has always been possible to overload a member function in one class with a member function in another class. With inheritance, however, you can overload a base class member function with a member function in a subclass as well."

However, by the time this book gets to where that quote is lifted from (roughly halfway through), Mr. Davis has done quite a credible job of preparing you for it. He sometimes falls down badly: his explanation of pointers completely neglects to mention the implicit referencing that is part of every normal assignment statement. The expression "variableX = variableY" (in all computer languages) actually means "the address pointed to by variableX is assigned the value pointed to by variableY", not "variableX is given the value of variableY". Most students would be much less confused by pointers if he had started his discussion by pointing out that all variables are actually pointers by nature.

Given the rather astonishing subtlety, complexity, and even beauty of full-bore C++, 400-odd pages are not going to make you into an overnight master (reading Stroustrup is the only way to do that) . The pace is extremely rapid, but the author succeeds fairly well in what he sets out to do, which is to explain the most complex computer language (by far) in clear and understandable terms.

If you have no programming background and no outside help, you will be quickly lost. And yet I firmly believe that C++ is the best language for a beginning programmer to start with, even if for no other reason than to avoid the development of bad habits.

I am still searching for a book that will thoroughly explain the fundamentals of programming from the ground up, using C++ as the starting point. However, if you do have some programming experience, and want to bootstrap your way to C++, this book is a good choice.

The "humour", on the other hand...

I'm in my 3rd year Computer Science studies, and am coming from a Java background after fiddling with C/C++ on embedded systems and decided some structured learning was needed.

On the whole this book rambles quite a bit, but that's to be expected for something aimed at beginninger - however this means that most of the learning meat is learnt from examples; which is a very bad thing as there are a lot of inconsistencies between the example code and the passage describing it.

Specific examples of what I mean:
On page 46 the author says that theoretically 10.0 == (100 % 10), and says to revise the modulo operator if you're confused. I'm pretty certain that 100 / 10 does not have a remainder, and hence that 100 % 10 = 0, and not 10 as the book states.
On pages 52-53 the passage says the code takes two numbers from the keyboard and does something with them, while the code does in-fact instantiate the variables directly, and does not accept any input at all.

There are also plenty of typos, both in the general writing ("was is 0x6 | 0x3?") and the code (page 52 "0x2" is written as "0x[subscript 2]").

Some of what is said is just plain wrong, for instance there are 8 bits in a byte, not 4. (Page 49).

I also got the impression that prior knowledge is being assumed, there are terms and concepts used casually, such as the default word length on an average PC is 32bit, without making it clear what this means - ints and floats were described in terms of what values they could contain, not their binary lengths.

And finally many important concepts are not explained fully, such as XOR, which does not even have a description in the operator table on page 50, it does have a partial truth-table though - why the other two cases were not included I have no idea, certainly my understanding of XOR did not come from this book.

I'm seriously glad that I'm borrowing this book, and didn't buy it myself. It seems to cover all the important topics, just not very cleanly, and I certainly wouldn't dream of inflicting it on a beginner. It's merely annoying if you have enough prior knowledge (of binary and how computers work with it, of logic (NOT, AND, OR, XOR) etc).

When the used books are selling for $4 compared to the $16 for a new book, you know that those who own this book have no use for it!
The author makes learning needlessly difficult by keeping on referring to what C++ can do compared to C. Why do I care about what C can do or not do? What I care about is learning C++!
Basically some authors have the gift of making learning easy by focussing on the important aspects of the subject. Stephen Davis unfortunately does not.
This book will probably sell well due to the publicity it gets from being part of the "Dummies" series. However once someone has bought it (like me), they will not want to keep it for long (as can be seen from the low low re-sale price).
I would recommend C++ Programming in Easy Steps by Mike McGarth as a superior alternative.

This is a solid introduction to the syntax and semantics of the core C++ language. It starts with the very basics of program structure using standard I/O examples and simple data types. There is some well thought out material on the basics of object oriented programming with the pillars of OO described at a practical level.

Templates are covered a little, but probably not enough to have you building them without some more reading them. The Standard Template Library (STL) is also covered thinly. This is a basic language reference. External libraries aren't the primary focus. In particular you will find no coverage of window systems or graphic user interface APIs, like Windows or anything else. If you want a complete C++ book for Windows, this isn't your book. But then I don't think that would be a good book anyway. You should learn the fundamentals of the language, then get a book specific to the platform you are developing on.

How can you trust a book to teach you something new when it's full of so many typos and errors? I've got the 5th edition and you'd think that in 5 editions someone would have a least fixed some of the typos. I've gotten to page 58 and I'm giving up. When I see that a table, important in understanding the different functions of AND OR and XOR has mislabeled the OR table as XOR, how am I to know when things that I'm not familiar with are correct or not? On page 51 the author refers to a "BitTest" program when he was actually referring to a "BoolTest" program. So I've just chucked it in the bin and I'll use online tutorials instead. At least I got a free CDROM with Dev-C++ on it (which I could have downloaded for free). A waste of paper.

I agree that the bad press is unwarranted. I am not a fan of computer "Dummies" books, but this and Perl for Dummies are both gems. The book warns, if you don't know C, go back and learn it before proceeding.

I felt this book was the perfect vehicle to both understanding the improvements of C++ over C and as an intro to OOP. Many of us hear about OOP and pretend to understand the "high level" of what it does without understanding the core. Davis does a great job of explaining abstraction, polymorphism and inheritance in a way that's applicable not only to the real world but to the programming world. OOP is such a dramatic departure from structured programming, and it requires the fun and entertaining explanation he provides (object oriented nachos). I have had many a propeller-head try to explain it to me with no success.

I am not an expert, but I now can honestly say I understand OOP and how to apply it, thanks to this book.

I have purchased many books for dummies and yet I guess when it comes to this one, I need one for idiots. Unfortunately, I bought the book sight unseen since the local bookstore said they weren't going to carry it. I can see why. The author DOES assume that you will be quick to pick up on his brief explanations. Many descriptions and examples are sketchy and confusing. I bought Oleg Yaroshenko's book The Beginner's Guide to C++ and OH what a difference! I recommend at least comparing the two before purchasing.

If you can get this from a friend or used it's worth the quick read but you'll need more C++ books to really learn it. You could get as much from an online tutorial in an hour...

I felt like a dummy for buying this book, not because I am new to programming but because the book is far from explanatory. Instead of using the straight forward syntax of the commands in the examples in order to get the reader comfortable the author uses examples that convalute the command. Page 67 introduces the for loop, page 69 advises to avoid the dreaded infinite loop but from that point on the for loop is used as an infinite loop. There are no layman explanations of classes or of why you would implement them the way they are shown. The book seems to jump around. I would recommend the Schaums Outline Programming with C++ instead. Avoid this book it is not worth the time, effort or money.