C++ Common Knowledge: Essential Intermediate Programming (Paperback)

by Stephen C. Dewhurst (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"We live in a time when, perhaps surprisingly, the best printed works on C++ are just now emerging. This is one of those works. Although C++ has been at the forefront of innovation and productivity in software development for more than two decades, it is only now being fully understood and utilized. This book is one of those rare contributions that can bear repeated study by practitioners and experts alike. It is not a treatise on the arcane or academic--rather it completes your understanding of things you think you know but will bite you sooner or later until you really learn them. Few people have mastered C++ and software design as well as Steve has; almost no one has such a level head as he when it comes to software development. He knows what you need to know, believe me. When he speaks, I always listen--closely. I invite you to do the same. You (and your customers) will be glad you did." --Chuck Allison, editor, The C++ Source"Steve taught me C++. This was back in 1982 or 1983, I think--he had just returned from an internship sitting with Bjarne Stroustrup inventor of C++ at Bell Labs. Steve is one of the unsung heroes of the early days, and anything Steve writes is on my A-list of things to read. This book is an easy read and collects a great deal of Steve's extensive knowledge and experience. It is highly recommended." --Stan Lippman, coauthor of C++ Primer, Fourth Edition"I welcome the self-consciously non-Dummies approach of a short, smart book." --Matthew P. Johnson, Columbia University"I agree with the author's assessment of the types of programmers. I have encountered the same types in my experience as a developer and a book like this will go far to help bridge their knowledge gap...I think this book complements other books, like Effective C++ by Scott Meyers. It presents everything in a concise and easy-to-read style." --Moataz Kamel, senior software designer, Motorola Canada"Dewhurst has written yet another very good book. This book should be required reading for people who are using C++ (and think that they already know everything in C++)." --Clovis Tondo, coauthor ofC++ Primer Answer BookWhat Every Professional C++ Programmer Needs to Know--Pared to Its Essentials So It Can Be Efficiently and Accurately Absorbed C++ is a large, complex language, and learning it is never entirely easy. But some concepts and techniques must be thoroughly mastered if programmers are ever to do professional-quality work. This book cuts through the technical details to reveal what is commonly understood to be absolutely essential. In one slim volume, Steve Dewhurst distills what he and other experienced managers, trainers, and authors have found to be the most critical knowledge required for successful C++ programming. It doesn't matter where or when you first learned C++. Before you take another step, use this book as your guide to make sure you've got it right! This book is for you if *You're no "dummy," and you need to get quickly up to speed in intermediate to advanced C++ *You've had some experience in C++ programming, but reading intermediate and advanced C++ books is slow-going *You've had an introductory C++ course, but you've found that you still can't follow your colleagues when they're describing their C++ designs and code *You're an experienced C or Java programmer, but you don't yet have the experience to develop nuanced C++ code and designs *You're a C++ expert, and you're looking for an alternative to answering the same questions from your less-experienced colleagues over and over again C++ Common Knowledge covers essential but commonly misunderstood topics in C++ programming and design while filtering out needless complexity in the discussion of each topic. What remains is a clear distillation of the essentials required for production C++ programming, presented in the author's trademark incisive, engaging style.

From the Back Cover

“We live in a time when, perhaps surprisingly, the best printed works on C++ are just now emerging. This is one of those works. Although C++ has been at the forefront of innovation and productivity in software development for more than two decades, it is only now being fully understood and utilized. This book is one of those rare contributions that can bear repeated study by practitioners and experts alike. It is not a treatise on the arcane or academic—rather it completes your understanding of things you think you know but will bite you sooner or later until you really learn them. Few people have mastered C++ and software design as well as Steve has; almost no one has such a level head as he when it comes to software development. He knows what you need to know, believe me. When he speaks, I always listen—closely. I invite you to do the same. You (and your customers) will be glad you did.”

—Chuck Allison, editor, The C++ Source

“Steve taught me C++. This was back in 1982 or 1983, I think—he had just returned from an internship sitting with Bjarne Stroustrup inventor of C++ at Bell Labs. Steve is one of the unsung heroes of the early days, and anything Steve writes is on my A-list of things to read. This book is an easy read and collects a great deal of Steve’s extensive knowledge and experience. It is highly recommended.”

—Stan Lippman, coauthor of C++ Primer, Fourth Edition

“I welcome the self-consciously non-Dummies approach of a short, smart book.”

—Matthew P. Johnson, Columbia University

“I agree with the author’s assessment of the types of programmers. I have encountered the same types in my experience as a developer and a book like this will go far to help bridge their knowledge gap.... I think this book complements other books, like Effective C++ by Scott Meyers. It presents everything in a concise and easy-to-read style.”

—Moataz Kamel, senior software designer, Motorola Canada

“Dewhurst has written yet another very good book. This book should be required reading for people who are using C++ (and think that they already know everything in C++).”

—Clovis Tondo, coauthor of C++ Primer Answer Book

What Every Professional C++ Programmer Needs to Know—Pared to Its Essentials So It Can Be Efficiently and Accurately Absorbed

C++ is a large, complex language, and learning it is never entirely easy. But some concepts and techniques must be thoroughly mastered if programmers are ever to do professional-quality work. This book cuts through the technical details to reveal what is commonly understood to be absolutely essential. In one slim volume, Steve Dewhurst distills what he and other experienced managers, trainers, and authors have found to be the most critical knowledge required for successful C++ programming. It doesn’t matter where or when you first learned C++. Before you take another step, use this book as your guide to make sure you’ve got it right!

This book is for you if

• You’re no “dummy,” and you need to get quickly up to speed in intermediate to advanced C++
• You’ve had some experience in C++ programming, but reading intermediate and advanced C++ books is slow-going
• You’ve had an introductory C++ course, but you’ve found that you still can’t follow your colleagues when they’re describing their C++ designs and code
• You’re an experienced C or Java programmer, but you don’t yet have the experience to develop nuanced C++ code and designs
• You’re a C++ expert, and you’re looking for an alternative to answering the same questions from your less-experienced colleagues over and over again

C++ Common Knowledge covers essential but commonly misunderstood topics in C++ programming and design while filtering out needless complexity in the discussion of each topic. What remains is a clear distillation of the essentials required for production C++ programming, presented in the author’s trademark incisive, engaging style.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (March 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321321928
• ISBN-13: 978-0321321923
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #419,350 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent !, March 26, 2005

By	Dr. Jinghui Chen "Principal Engineer, Softwar... (USA) - See all my reviews

This book extracts the most important and widely used modern C++ concepts and organizes them into bite-sized chunks. Very succinct (it could be too short if you are an expert, you may prefer more exhaustive in-depth analyses). The language style is delight and some confusing concepts are presented in an accessible way, you will not feel dry. I finished reading it without any break in 8 hours, it's quite a pleasant experience.

The interesting feature of this book is that it emphasizes proper use of design patterns in C++ way (prototype, command, factory method, template method..., and item 3 gives an excellent reasoning why you should familiarize yourself with design patterns) and some C++ template techniques (explicit specialization, partial specialization, member templates, functors, embedded type info/typedefs, traits, policies..., and several simple template metaprogramming techniques: such as item 59 "SFINAE" and item 52 "Specializing for Type Information"). This is not a single incident, for example, the whole book "Modern C++ Design" by Andrei Alexandrescu is totally focusing on applying C++ template techniques to solve several design pattern issues.

No matter in which level are you, I believe you will deepen your understanding and sharpen your skills from another angle. If you are serious about improving your C++ skills, it's better to have this book in your reading list.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to some critical subjects, August 18, 2005

By	G. Wade Johnson (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In this book, Stephen Dewhurst explains 63 individual issues that every intermediate and senior C++ programmer should understand. The topics range from the basic material that anyone programming in C++ should know ("Data Abstraction" and "Polymophism") to more advanced topics that a junior programmer might not grasp ("Template Argument Deduction" and "Generic Algorithms"). Along the way, he covers initialization vs. assignment, exception safety, class layout, and many more.

The only complaint I have about the book is a lack of depth on individual issues. In all fairness, Dewhurst explicitly states that this is his intent. He wanted the material to be short enough to bring someone up to a basic level of understanding quickly. With that in mind, This book serves as a good starter for familiarizing a junior programmer with more advanced topics. To really learn these issues well, the programmer will need supplemental material.

Most junior and intermediate C++ programmers would benefit from reading this book. Any item that you don't fully understand is an area where you need improvement. Senior-level C++ programmers might find this book interesting for reminding themselves where more junior programmers are likely to slip. It would also serve as a good reference to hand to a junior programmer to bring him or her up to speed quickly without spending a lot of time in explanation.

Despite my one complaint, I would recommend this book to most C++ programmers.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Intermediate Text and Reference, September 23, 2005

By	Paul M. Dubuc (Columbus, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I didn't enjoy reading Stephen Dewhurst's earlier book, C++ Gotchas, very much because the approach of teaching by showing you what can go wrong bothers me. If you didn't know about some these particular gotchas before (by experience), does the vague understanding (that you get from reading about them) that they exist help protect you from them? Maybe. But trying to be aware of them all can just make you a more confused programmer; losing sight of your objective of good software design by trying to avoid all the pitfalls. We can learn form others' mistakes occasionally, but I think we can learn a lot more by being taught with examples of how to do it right in the first place. This second approach is taken by Dewhurst in C++ Common Knowledge. It was very enjoyable to read.

This is a great intermediate level text and reference for C++ programmers. It deals with many of the concepts of C++ programming that C++ programmers must understand on the way from being a beginner to making effective use of the language. It covers these concepts with clear examples and explanations in an increasing order of difficulty. This book belongs on almost every C++ programmer's bookshelf because, even if you know the material, the way it is presented in this book makes it easier to remember and review when needed. Highly recommended.