Customer Reviews

Sams Teach Yourself C++ for Linux in 21 Days

5 star:		(3)
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TEACH YOURSELF C++ FOR LINUX IN 21 DAYS, while it may seem the ideal book to the budding Linux programmer because of its size, is a poor book for the beginner, and indeed for most programmers hoping to use C++. The book is a so-so introduction to C++ the language, but doesn't offer any useful Linux-specific information (if you want to program in Linux, you probably already know what vi and emacs are, and how to open a command-line). The CD-ROM, containing a distribution of Mandrake Linux, is three years old and thus already ancient compared to today's Linux scene.

The book is not really a "21 day" course, but rather a course made up of 21 units. Some units are too big to tackle in one day, such as the chapters on references and error-handling, unless one has 8 hours to dedicate to this. I'd say three months is a reasonable amount of time to complete this book.

When this book came out, in 1999, the K Desktop Environment (KDE), programmed in C++, was the most popular desktop and thus budding programmers could find plenty of code to work with and improve. In the years since, however, the GNOME desktop, programmed in C, has gained ascendency among power users, and is now the default in many distributions. So, learning C++ on Linux nowadays as a first step in programming gives one very little to work with, as C is the primary language. While in many operating systems one doesn't have to learn C before C++, in Linux it is almost essential because the kernel, most if not all GNU software, and GNOME programs are all in C. So, for the beginning Linux programmer I'd advise first going through Sam's C FOR LINUX PROGRAMMING IN 21 DAYS. Afterward, one could use this book, or ideally a more Linux-centric book, to reap the object-oriented benefits of C++.

Unfortunately, it is quickly apparent that TEACH YOURSELF C++ FOR LINUX IN 21 DAYS is actually just Sam's TEACH YOURSELF C++ in 21 DAYS with a couple of token references to the GNU Compiler Collection, and a very out-of-date "bonus week" added. This becomes particulary obvious as every chapter has talks about how to compile each example on, of all things, DOS. Another problem stemming from the fact the most of the authors aren't Linux programmers, one that consistently shows throughout the book, is the authors' lack of familiarity with free software and the GPL. As a result, the chapter on software design shows a process best suited to the programming department of a corporation, where everyone can get together every morning to discuss the project, and this would not be very efficient in the Linux world of international contribution over distance. A glance at the authors' experience shows they may not be dedicated to ideals of the GNU Public License and open-source software, for example Jesse Libery is now consulting on the .NET project. I would urge anyone wishing to program on Linux to use resources written by actual Linux programmers.

Bottom line, get Sam's C FOR LINUX PROGRAMMING IN 21 DAYS first if you're a beginner. If you're an experience programmer who already knows C, this book may be helpful, but it has its problems.

I think that this book is perfect for the programmer that is used to Windows, but not familiar to Linux simply because that's exactly what I am. This book starts out from the very bottom just like most of the other Sams books, but it also covers advanced functions. I do think that they could have covered some of the chapters more extensively, but overall I liked it very much. I'd reccomend this book for beginners to Linux, no matter how good they are with C++. Sams did a great job with this one.

I'll start of with the positive, this book definately give lots of explanations of the concepts used, and lots of background for those not familiar with GNU/Linux or C++. I did find the example code supplied extremely buggy, and required lots of modifications to compile. Also, in the sections of system calls (threads and pipes), the example code only shows wrappers around the actual calls needed, and they only show the definition of that wrapper class, not the implementation. I guess if I want to find out exactly how to create a thread or named pipe, i'll have to dig elsewhere.

C++ for Linux provides sound fundamental concepts for someone new to C++. This is also a good reference book for programming in C++. I am a C programmer and I wanted to study C++ for my next project. I have greatly benefitted by studying this book.

I bought "Teach Yourself C++ for Linux in 21 Days" to broaden my understanding beyond my school's course material. I was interested in the exposition on analysis and design, including UML concepts. What an interesting book this turned out to be!

There is plenty here for the beginning programmer. The authors lead the newbie right up from "what is a program," "what is a variable," and "what is a function" to the most advanced concepts of the language.

The section on object oriented design was both clear and well-illustrated. I enjoyed the authors' sense of humor and professional perspective. I also enjoyed the simple (but rare) illustration of how to use ctags with vi. That bonus was worth the price of the book right there! The tips on coding style and inclusion guards were other gems.

There is plenty more in this book to keep me growing. Sections covering namespaces, "catch," "throw," exceptions, and the Standard Template Library will keep me reading. These authors are truly the gurus' gurus.

This book is full of mistakes. It also begins by teaching you to program one way, and then tells you that this is wrong. I picked up this book as a refresher, because I have not done any C++ or UNIX in 10 years, but even I could pick out the mistakes in the book. It does not explain the important aspects of C++ very well, skipping over most things with just a cursory description of what is going on. Do not get this book..

The book is well written in clear language and the example scripts are written in a special font making it easy to understand. I just cannot get the CD containing the compiler to work and it's vital to the lessons.
The CD loads the files but the install log shows an error on one item. Problem is some 'merge' file that's missing in the windows folder of the CD download. Does anyone else have a problem?

The CD is the important part of the purchase.