Customer Reviews

Teach Yourself Visual C++ 4 in 21 Days (Teach Yourself in 21 Days)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

After reading this book, I realized I need to study basic Win32API functions. Hmm.. so I can say I learned at least one thing. I didn't expect I could be a Visual C++ expert by this book, but this book barley touches how you can use Wizards... nothing more.

This is a book about how to run the MFC Wizard tool. Repetitive not instructive. I'm not sure I'll want to spend time with the future editions (VC++ 5, 6,...).

This book has so many errors in the code examples it is disgusting. Several times they will show you examples of how to do something interesting within the code they have given you on the CD but do not explain how to do it! To roughly quote the author: "I know some of you might be wondering why you have to do .... and .... to do this but that isn't important, just use this example so you never have to figure it out for yourself". If that isn't bad enough in it's self, then the example code doesn't even work! Do not buy this for any reason, there are much better books on the subject.

I found this book of absolutely no help whatsoever in trying to learn the basics of VC++. The examples given are either absurdly simple and repetitive, or completely undecipherable as new concepts are introduced without explanation. Thank God I only borrowed the book and didn't fork out the cover price!

I really didn't expect one book to make me a VC++ expert. The concepts covered by any VC++ book are large and complex. What I did expect was that the publisher would make an efforts to publish working code. If that was too much of a bother then at least provide information where the corrections could be obtained.

OK, I understand this is a book for beginners, but does anyone who's even CONSIDERING programming in Visual C++ need to be told:

1. How to open a file. 2. How to close a window. 3. How to start a program. 4. How to use a mouse...

It's hard to learn anything useful when you're busy trying learn how to do these things. You should generally avoid these "Teach Yourself to be a Complete Idiot for Dummies" style books, as nobody that writes C++ program is an idiot.

If you've never seen the Visual C++ environment before, this is the book that can get you going the quickest. It's simple and shallow, so you'll need a dozen other books handy to look things up, but if you're teaching yourself how to write Windows applications, that's exactly how you are going to be doing it anyway. This book will give you tons of things to look up in other books, but in a structured, well communicated, and accurate way.

The only thing this book really teaches is how to use the Class Wizards in Visual C++. However, it teaches virtually nothing about MFC or C++ programming, which is really a lot more important anyway. I bought this book intending to move up from DOS-based C programming to Visual C++, but the robotic and repititious click-here, type-this-there, don't-worry-how-it-works approach teaches you very little.

I program/analyze by visualizing what is happening and this book was almost useless for me. The 'type this, now see this does that' style was immensely irritating and gave me almost no insight into how the overall structure of windows programming using C++ works.

Picked up Mastering C++ and Microsoft Press's Inside Visual C++ and actually learned why I was doing what I was being asked to type, instead of just seeing cool effects. The only thing I did learn was about the visual toolbars for creating the look of the interface.

This book attempts to solve a problem relating to Visual C++ for Win 95: how do you enable beginners and hobbists to use MFC, an incredibly complex and rich professional development system? The solution presented here involves what I like to call a "click click duh duh" approach, in which the reader is given a list of steps to perform, which, when completed, will result in a finished win32 application. Does it work? yes. Is it programming? no. I don't really believe anyone will benefit from reading this. In order to be able to use VC++, a programmer will have to be able to apply his or her knowlegde in a myriad of situations, not just be able to follow a set of written directions. Besides, the writing style, which apparently assumes the reader has the brain of a garden slug, made me want to retch