Customer Reviews

C++ from the Ground Up

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The book says specifically that it is written for beginner to intermediate level. This book meets that goal very well. I have an BS in computer science and I have worked in industry as a developer for over 6 years, several of these using C++. I brought this book, because I learned C++ by using it. Therefore, I only used a small subset of C++'s capabilities in my job, and I really wanted to know the language well.

There are several things that need to be taken into account when trying to learn C++. First, the authors of the actual C++ language estimate that it will take 6 months - 1 1/2 years to truly learn C++. Second, all college level computer science students take a class in algorithms, datastructure, object oriented programming, file systems, and software engineering. Chapters 1 - 9 cover the material that is usually taught in a standard "algorthims" class. Chapters 10 - 15 would cover the material that would be expected in a hands on object oriented programming class. Chapters 16 - 22 would cover the material in an advanced C++ class. Even after you finish this book, your education is not complete. This book only covers 1/3 of what is actually in the C++ language standards. "The C++ Standard Library" will teach you about STL: Standard Template Library -- material taught in a standard data structures class, and is another 1/3 of the language standards. Then you will need "Standard C++ IOStreams and Locales". This will cover the last 1/3 of the C++ langauge standards, file systems. Finally, you will need a book about interfacing with databases, so you can save the data, and GUI, so you can interface with the user.

I don't mean to discourage anyone from learning C++. I just wanted to provide realistic expectations. Starting at Chapter 6, I have been going through this book slowly, and I have been learning a lot about the details of C++. The book will not teach a person how to write algorithms or how to write object oriented code. It will just teach you how to do it in C++. Therefore, if you don't know the theory of these ideas, you will need a book to explain the theory.

I've owned a computer since 1982 (no, not the same one, different ones). In the 7th grade they taught us a little Basic, though I already knew some from some computer magazines I subscribed to & one or two books. I've modified JavaScript code and I'm conversant in HTML. That's the extent of my programming knowledge.

I've tried to pick up programming from time to time over the years but never had any success. I could never find a book that was clear. They either assumed you knew programming and were picking up a new language (like the Ivor Horton books), or started from "the gray box sitting on your floor is a computer" and I couldn't stomach the first chapter, let alone the tone of the book itself.

This book, however, neither assumes you know programming (but does seem to assume you understand some of the concepts) nor talks down to you. My girlfriend, who understands much less about computing than I do had a hard time with it when she read through the intro.

I read the introduction and first chapter "The Story of C++" in the store and knew this was the book for me. Chapter two is an overview and goes through some of the data types, compiling, what "(" and ")" do, what "Q$ do, etc. Really basic stuff.

Chapter 3 goes over the basic data types (variables).

All of this stuff was familiar to me, though the particulars and nuances are new. I would certainly need a reference until I got used to what each type was. I was beginning to worry that once I got into territory I didn't know I would find myself in over my head. That he was going too fast and what I had previously thought was concice I would find later to be not enough explanantion.

Chapter 4 covers program control statements - "if" "else" "for" "do/while" etc. Again, this was largely familiar to me, but I was quickly adding to my knowledge, and once he started to cover stuff I didn't know, I found it easy to pick up.

I'm up to Chapter 5 - Arrays and Stings. I trust I'll be able to add that to my knowledge just as easily as I have everything else.

While I doubt I would be able to consider myself a competent programmer simply by reading this book & doing the exercises (because of my lack of "hands on" experience), I'm confident that once the training wheels are off I can be coasting in no time.

I'll post another review in a few months time when I've gotten through some more chapters of finished the book (depending on my level of laziness).

I've read reccomendation (on amazon) that you pick up Schildt's other book, "Teach Yourself C++" and I probably will. It's more exercise/example driven, while this one is more explanations. I also picked up the C/C++ Programmer's Reference by Schildt.

I'm also interested in the C++ FAQ, both the free online version (which you should look up) and the more robust book version. They say you should find a mentor and buy three books - a "legality" guide, or what you can do, a "morality" guide, or what you should do (of which, the C++ Faq book is an example), and a "program by example" guide. Perhaps their approach is best. I'm going in without a mentor, just trying to have fun and learn something. All I know is that I found Schildt's book to be very readable and he walked the balance between being just factual and being descriptive.

Maybe between the reference, this book, and the Teach Yourself book I have all 3, and all I need is a flesh and blood mentor.

I hope this review helps you, I know it's hard finding a good programming book, and I'm sure it's even harder if you can't flip through it in the store. If you're like me, I think you'll really like this book.

This is a very good book. I have 4 books on learning C++ and this is the best one yet. It's extremely well organized and more indepth than any book I've seen yet. Reading is easy to understand but doesn't treat you like an idiot. The way it is written would make it a great book as a reference as well. The only complaints I have are the lack of any exercises for the reader to do so that he may understand how each subject works. Merely reading someone else's code isn't good enough. Secondly, the author doesn't tell a beginner how to get started in any compilers. I realize that there are many, but instruction on how to get started with the major 3 (C++ Builder, Visual C++, and CodeWarrior) would help users get started using the code that you can download. This book is a must, but don't let it be your only book...

I found the book to be a perfect mix between explanations and examples. Too many beginners programming books that I nearly tried in the past push pages and pages of example code at you without any detailed explanation and call that "teaching". I was able to read through this entire book once while only skimming the examples, and I was able to understand just about all of what the author was trying to show. Then I spent time examining and trying out the examples to confirm my understanding. Also, too many other beginners books that I considered purchasing seemed to go to one of two extremes; either treating the reader like an idiot, or glossing over basic concepts without real explanation. The author takes the tack that he is conveying completely new knowledge to an intelligent human being who is inexperienced in this field. I should note that I had some programming knowledge before reading this book, but not extensive (A TINY amount of C, some FORTRAN which I've mostly forgotten, and some BASIC). It may have helped, but I don't think it was necessary to understand the book.

I have read more than 10 books on C++ and found this book very easy to understand, particularly for Beginners and Intermediate C++ programmers. This book primarily writes from the compilers point of view. It doesn't just tell you how to write a C++ code but also tells you how a compiler treats your written code & talks extensively about how the compiler actually implements the user written code and this is what makes a programmer make very few mistakes while writing the code. Author has written this book keeping in view the beginners & intermediate C++ programmers and he has done an excellent work by making the complex C++ look very easy.

The book is rather thick as all of the programming manuals this days. However, it provides a great learning tool, as well as good reference for programming techniques in both OOP and Imperative paradigms. Author should be more humble in his claims to be "the C++ Master". Just a personal note.

This book is close to being an excellent book. Most of the C++ books either assume that you are a C expert, or are aimed at programming novices (with "what is a variable?" type chapters). This book does neither. The layout of the book makes it suitable as a tutorial or as a reference.

With that said, I have a couple complaints about the book. This is supposed to be a C++ book, but you don't see a class until page 243 (over half way through the book!). I realize that you don't want to cover multiple inheritance in the first chapter, but the examples in the front of the book should use classes and object oriented methologies.

In addition, important features like templates and exception handling are glossed over in the final chapter, "Templates and Other Advanced Features". To be up to date, the coverage of these topics needs to be expanded.

In conslusion, I cannot recommend this book. Classes and object oriented programming are core concepts of C++ and should not be glossed over. I hope that a second edition is in the works.

I found this an excellent beginner-level intro to C++, and yet still a fairly complete tour of the language. Only the Standard Template Library wasn't covered in depth, but even then, the most commonly-used STL classes were clearly explained. It's easy and quick reading; I read it cover to cover in about a week. I've read several reviews of books in the "from the ground up" series that complained that they were too advanced; if so, this book is an exception. I had only a rudimentary knowledge of C++ when I picked it up, but I found it very easy to follow. I recommed it highly.

Great explanation and exemplification of pointers. I started with Horton's Beginning Visual C++, and got bogged down with the pointer stuff. Then I began reading Schildt, and he made it all seem so easy and clear that I just kept reading. I have only some minor gripes. 1) The example programs are often repeated with only minor modifications, which are not highlighted --- they're buried in the code; 2) I haven't checked the errata sheet, but I found it challenging and fun to debug some of Schildt's code (check out page 588 for a real blooper!); 3) The coverage of STL was (necessarily, I suppose) cursory and vague; 4) Schildt never gives a clear explanation of things like "template <class T, Allocator = allocator<T>>class list" (p 583) --- these "syntax models" occur late in the book, however, and the examples that follow usually make things pretty clear; and 5) After finishing this book I can supposedly "call [myself] a C++ programmer"(page 637). I can also call myself a wombat --- it ain't necessarily true, though! It was a good read, and I now feel better able to attack Horton.

I learned C++ programming from the first edition of this book, and browsing through the 3rd edition it seems that the quality is just as high as that first edition from which I learned the language years ago. Schildt excels at teaching by keeping the concepts simple and straightforward. If you hope to learn object oriented programming from this book, by the way, you will not. This is strictly a book for learning the language. The only negative thing I can say about the book is that the last three chapters that have been added since the first edition on more advanced topics are rather thin and seem tacked on. Regardless of that, I would highly recommend this book to anyone thinking about learning C++. I notice that the table of contents is not shown by Amazon, so I show that here for the purpose of completeness:
1: The Story of C++
2: An Overview of C++
3: The Basic Data Types
4: Program Control Statements
5: Arrays and Strings
6: Pointers
7: Functions, Part One: The Fundamentals
8: Functions, Part Two: References, Overloading, and Default Arguments
9: More Data Types and Operators
10: Structures and Unions
11: Introducing the Class
12: A Closer Look at Classes
13: Operator Overloading
14: Inheritance
15: Virtual Functions and Polymorphism
16: Templates
17: Exception Handling
18: The C++ I/O System
19: Run-Time Type ID and the Casting Operators
20: Namespaces and Other Advanced Topics
21: Introducing the Standard Template Library
22: The C++ Preprocessor
A: C-Based I/O
B: Working with an Older C++ Compiler
C: The .NET Managed Extensions to C++