C++ Programming Today [Paperback]

Barbara Johnston (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130853755 | ISBN-13: 978-0130853752 | Publication Date: May 13, 2001

C++ Programming Today presents the C++ language and object-oriented theory in an easy-to-read, comprehensive format. It guides the reader from beginning programming through complex object-oriented techniques and is filled with practical programming information including style guidance, debugging, multi-file program construction, and real-world, common-sense programming advice. Included with the book is Microsoft Visual C++ Version 6.0 software which serves as an excellent development tool. Troubleshooting sections save readers time by presenting the common mistakes and pitfalls that programmers encounter. For software developers and computer programmers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

C++ Programming Today presents the C++ language and object-oriented theory in an easy-to-read, comprehensive format. It guides the reader from beginning programming through complex object-oriented techniques and is filled with practical programming information including style guidance, debugging, multi-file program construction, and real-world, common-sense programming advice. Included with the book is Microsoft Visual C++ Version 6.0 software which serves as an excellent development tool. Troubleshooting sections save readers time by presenting the common mistakes and pitfalls that programmers encounter. For software developers and computer programmers.

About the Author

Barbara Johnston is a faculty member in the Business and Information Technology Division of Central New Mexico Community College. At the college, she is program chair for Computer Programming and Database Technology programs. She teaches C++, Java, OpenGL, and Windows programming courses. Ms Johnston also supports the software development staff of Rapid Imaging Software, Inc. by writing Java and C++ applications. Before joining the faculty of CNM, she was a software engineer and engineering manager for Rockwell International Corporation working mainly on scientific visualization and data modeling projects. Ms. Johnston earned a MS in Electrical Engineering, MA in Mathematics Education, and BS in Biology, from the University of New Mexico. Her other text books include the C++ Programming Today 1^st Ed and  Java Programming Today.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 709 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (May 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130853755
• ISBN-13: 978-0130853752
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,511,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for new and intermediate C++ programmers!!, June 12, 2001

By 

Mike Werner (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: C++ Programming Today (Paperback)

Few titles have ever gotten me really excited, but I have to tell you, "C++ Programming Today" has. The text is organized with the new and intermediate C++ programmer in mind. Each chapter leads the reader into new and more challenging concepts that are built upon topics presented in previous chapters. Throughout the book the author uses lots of color and highlighting which to me, is a lot easier on the eyes and makes the book a more enjoyable read. Another useful feature is the use of 4 Stoplight icons to tell the reader when a C++ programming method is either a "Good Programming Practice" (Green Stoplight), "Be Cautious" (Yellow), "Stop! Do Not Do This" (Red) or a Stoplight with yellow flags to represent a "Troubleshooting Tip". The appendices (over 115 pages) contain lots of great reference information such as C++ keywords, operators, string class, file IO, hex notation and ASCII character codes. I was REALLY happy to find out that this book also came with two CD's - the first one contains the full working code of all the examples Johnston uses throughout her book. The second CD is a full-blown copy of Microsoft's Visual C++ 6 (Intro edition). The only thing I didn't like about the book was that the perforated quick reference card was printed on the same paper as the rest of the book, in my opinion it's not strong enough for a reference card you'll be referring to all the time. (I took mine to Kinko's and had it laminated) All in all I would still highly recommend this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I wouldn't teach with this to save my life., November 9, 2010

By 

Indrora - See all my reviews

This review is from: C++ Programming Today (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

I'm a student taking a C++ course at the institution where the author works; I'm astonished that all THREE ( C++1, 2 & 3 ) courses that this particular institution offers use this book as the primary text. The text is slow, boring, poorly edited (My classmates and I have found NUMEROUS grammatical errors in it), and most importantly: inconsistent.

The book itself is very random on code samples. Where most books make a definite attempt to say "Code looks like this: Bold text, mono-space font, offset like this!", there are portions of code which are gray and mono-spaced, grey and /proportionally/ spaced and others where the text is simply inline! Program listings sometimes have line numbers, are sometimes set off with header bars, and even worse, sometimes not even spaced right. Very little effort was put into place to at least bring a consistent layout.

The examples are often shoddy, and there are many which will not compile out of the box with gcc. Concepts are often given... Childish meanings (such as "Pointers can only contain hexadecimal addresses") and very little is explained about the process of how the c++ compiler works, or even why it does certain things. More often than not, I am left shaking my head and not able to get any form of understanding -- I'm often left with my 200 page IBM STL reference as a guide.

The book also never touches on why you would do things, such as accept 2 pointers and return a boolean (See: a fair chunk of the C library), and encourages function names like "void AskForLastAndFirstName(string* FirstName, string* LastName)".

I know the author and she is a sweet woman but I must agree with other reviewers: She can't write, and unfortunately she can't see that and accept patches. Bjarn Stroustroup's The C++ Programming Language: Special Edition is a better text on all accounts, and I would suggest it and Knuth's The Art of Computer Programming, Vol. 4, Fascicles 0-4 (5 Volume Set) [Paperback] to anyone who seriously wants to learn the language.

If I were an instructor, I would steer clear of this book. It is inconsistent, confusing and overall a painful, demeaning read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What a muddy low quality textbook, October 8, 2008

By 

Charlie Blake "Reluctant Shopper" (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: C++ Programming Today (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

Most everyone agrees that textbooks are overpriced. It is a terrible scam on the market. When you have a textbook that is a muddy and cheap as this book, you are slammed by the tragedy.
PROS
The picture on the cover is beautiful.
The text is often cheery. The text is not dry and completely robotic.
CONS
1) It is supposed to have a CD, but neither amazon nor the publisher can get it.
2) There are no supplemental files. Some people feel that books should not include code samples, but those people are either genius learners or oblivious to the learning process. Even the supreme O'Reilly books have source for most of their books at a web site.
3) The quality of the printing and the paper is weak for the price. I guess that the publisher and author hope to sell this to drop outs. It will look good on a shelf for years. If you use it and carry it for more than a couple of weeks, it shows WAY too much wear. The paper is too glossy and flimsy. With the thin sans serif font, one has to often move their head to see the words instead of the shine. The average student turning pages tears pages.
4) The Appendixes are too slim. Buy a copy of Stroustrup's book for its appendixes.
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5) The layout and indexing is weak. Key programming terms are not consistently introduced or displayed. Indexes were weak. Instructional illustrations are sometimes unclear or too far from the accompanying text. (Personal preference for educational texts: There are no summary sections for the chapters.)