The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Programming with the C++ Standard Library can certainly be difficult, but Nicolai Josuttis's The C++ Standard Library provides one of the best available guides to using the built-in features of C++ effectively.

The C++ Standard Library provides plenty of default functionality in the form of the Standard Template Library (STL) for containers (like vectors and linked lists), as well as generic algorithms (which allow you to sort, search, and manipulate elements inside containers). The best thing about The C++ Standard Library is that it gives the reader a concise guide to working with these basic containers (from lists to sets and maps, with everything in between). Each container type is explained along with short code excerpts. Moreover, in a reference section, the author explores the connections between each container type, showing how they share similar methods. (Learn just a few methods and you can pretty much work with them all.)

In addition to STL, this book excels at providing a readable introduction to the generic algorithms (which can be used to sort, search, and otherwise manipulate STL containers). Other books either fold this material in with the explanation of containers or make it seem like an esoteric topic. The fact is, generic algorithms work with all the STL types, and by separating these algorithms out like this the reader can learn the rich array of algorithms available in today's standard C++. While this book concentrates on STL and algorithms, readers will still find great coverage on Standard Library string classes and streams (including a fine section on internationalization and locales).

For the beginning or intermediate C++ programmer, The C++ Standard Library can be a real timesaver. It arranges and explains the complexities of the C++ Standard Library and STL in a manageable format that's great as a reference and as an approach to programming. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: history of C++ and the Standard Library, template basics, Big-O Notation, the std namespace, standard exceptions, allocators, standard library utilities, pairs and auto_ptr, numeric limits, the Standard Template Library (STL) basics, containers, iterators, algorithms, vectors, lists, deques, strings, sets, multisets, bitsets, maps, multimaps, stacks, queues, iterator adapters, function objects, element requirements, value and reference semantics, complex numbers, valarrays, stream classes, stream manipulators and formatting, file I/O, internationalization, and locales.

Product Description

Complete and comprehensive coverage is given of the full ANSI/ISO C++ standard.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 832 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 1 edition (August 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201379260
• ISBN-13: 978-0201379266
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,699 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as it gets, January 28, 2000

By	M. Henning "Michi" (Holland Park, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

On my second reading, I'm still finding more gems in this book. Up to now, it was almost impossible to find any comprehensive material on the standard library. All one could find was the odd article about some aspect of the library, or rather specialized books about STL. Nicolai has fixed that particular problem once and for all.

The book reminds of Richard Stevens's famous UNIX books. Incredibly complete, incredibly detailed, incredibly accurate, and a great tutorial and reference at the same time. And, best of all, it's just as accessible to someone who is not a real expert as it is for someone who's been using C++ for years.

This is one of the *very* few books that get a spot on my top shelf. A classic that I will come back to again and again.

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars tutorial maybe, NOT a reference of any depth, February 25, 2004

By	Eric (United States of America) - See all my reviews

I so wanted to like this book, but I take a $50 book purchase very seriously. Every time I try to look something up in this book, I end up finding the answer in The C++ Programming Language (3rd Ed, by Stroustrup) instead. That bums me out. I wanted a reference for the STL that I could pull out while coding and get the answer with no digging. This book ain't it.

Also, I read the first couple of chapters straight through and they struck me as weak. There seemed to be selective assumptions about what the reader should know. I'm an experienced coder and I had trouble figuring out what the author was really trying to get across, or why. I guess I'm used to the efficient, logical, concept-packed prose (and expertise) of Stroustrup, Kernighan/Ritchie, and Meyers.

Even so, I will continue to give this book a chance and will edit my review if I find that I was too quick to judgment.
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Okay, here's my update. I have returned the book to amazon. The title should be STL Primer, as in a breezy INTRODUCTION to the STL. It is a reference only for beginners (in my view). The examples are uniformly simplistic and there is little depth to the discussions. Even when some potential pitfall or complexity is mentioned, the matter is dropped right there.

This all sounds negative, but I don't mean to be. I was simply misled by the huge number of (inaccurate) raves. This is NOT a reference of any depth. It certainly is not a "must have". It may be a decent tutorial for someone new to STL.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars STL and More..., December 24, 2000

By	James Boer (Kirkland, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mr. Josuttis offers in this book an amazingly comprehensive guide to the often bewildering C++ standard library. I originally purchased this book looking for more STL information, and I was certainly not disappointed in that respect. STL descriptions account for nearly half of the book volume. However, as non-STL questions arose, I found myself digging into this book time and time again (questions about auto_ptr, string class, allocators, etc).

If you're a C++ programmer and do not already own a current (circa 1999 or later) library reference, do yourself and your code a favor and grab a copy of this book. C++ is an extremely scalable language. It's easy to use only knowing a small subset of the language and library features. Having a reference such as this one ensures that you'll be less likely to accidentally duplicate work that has already been done for you in the standard library.

As far as book organization goes, I'd say that the book does lean more towards "reference" rather than "tutorial", but I never believe a book that claims to be both anyhow. Anyone interested in a pure tutorial should buy a book specifically written with that in mind. For more experienced programmers not needing quite as much hand holding, however, the book does work as advertised.

Overall, I can't really recommend this book more enthusiastically.