Customer Reviews

Sams Teach Yourself Borland C++ Builder in 21 Days

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I learned alot from this book. The chapters on database development and Internet development are quite good. I've been really happy with Ken Henderson's other books, and this one didn't disappoint me. His singular wit and matter-of-factness are greatly in evidence in the portions of the book he wrote. Not to take anything away from Kent R., but what made this book for me was the to-the-point style for which Henderson is famous, as well as the motherloade of good info in the Internet and database chapters. Definitely recommended for beginners and intermediate Builder developers.

This is a wonderful introduction to the product. Even considering it's for the original version of Builder, it's still a great book. The explanations are clear and to-the-point, the narrative is cogent as well as lucid. I expecially like the database tutorials -- they straightened out a number of misconceptions I had. Residorph and Henderson have put together a very nice piece of work.

I've found the compiler documentation to be inadiquate, so I got this book to hopefully help out. It's well written and covers a lot of useful information, however this book is best suited for newbies. It is not at all suited for advanced programmers, but is more than adequate for those just beginning.

Isn't it amazing how great books stand the test of time? With the way technology is always changing, you might not expect computer books to last very long, but this one has real staying power.

I've read some of Henderson's other books and this one lives up to the tradition of excellence. He's a born writer and his gift for explaining the complex in terms anyone could understand is evident throughout this book.

What I like most about Henderson's work is that you get the impression that he put himself in your shoes for a bit and wrote the book from the perspective of what you'd want to know. Honestly, just about the time I'm ready to ask a question, he answers it!

This book is a great jumping off point if you're wanting to dive into C++Builder.

I loved this book. It's conversational without being hackneyed. It's informative without being dense. I left it with a very good understanding of how to build apps in Builder in as short a time as possible -- which is why you buy a 21 days book in the first place.

Unless you are incapable of reading, this book is a must for your library if you code in C++Builder. The vicious review below is beneath rebuttle. This book changed my life. I was having trouble getting started with C++Builder 5.0 until I happened upon this book at a local bookstore. Not only am I getting around in C++Builder quite well, I think I finally have a handle on Borland's concept of OOP. I've been a Smalltalk and MSVC++ coder for years, but Borland bends the terms a bit and defines a few things differently. Thanks to this book, I finally have a handle on this, and I'm more productive than ever in both C++Builder and Windows n-tier development in general.

This book is not one to learn off of. It does not give good code examples, nor any explanation behind the little amount of code it does give you. For programmers who already know the language well, it is a great reference book. You would be better of teaching yourself through the Borland Builder help files.

If you're looking for a book that gives you lots of code examples, and explains how to write code for common programming situations, then don't buy this book. The author devotes his attention to showing you the features of the compiler, without ever providing examples and projects for the reader to try. And when he does provide code examples they are ridiculouly long and don't help you at all. Leaves a lot to be desired.

This book was a good overview, but leaves you with a lot of questions in the end. The title turned out to be misleading as well, since I read it and understood it in a couple of days, not twenty-one.

To summarize, the book was a good introduction to visual programming, and the visual aspect of Borland C++ Builder, but did not discuss any practical applications in any depth. I found that it discussed a lot of how to "drag here, click here, enter your code here", but did not cover on what code you could put and where.

I also found it somewhat lacking in covering the VCL and Events. For example, the book covered on the fact that you could create drag-and-drop events, but not how.

A good beginners book, but I felt it belonged more in the "For Dummies" series than in the TYI21D's series.

Like most Teach Yourself books, this book is intended for the beginner-to-intermediate developer. I have to say, it fully delivers. It is not for the C++Builder wizard....

What I like most about the book is the obvious command of C++ the authors have. To get to read two C++ experts teach us how to use one of the best C++ tools out there is a real treat. Thank you for taking the time to do this.