C++ The Core Language (Nutshell Handbooks) (Paperback)

by Doug Brown (Author), Gregory Satir (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
C++: The Core Language is a primer for C programmers transitioning to C++, an object-oriented enhancement of the C programming language fast becoming the language of choice for serious software development. Designed to get readers up to speed quickly, this book tells you just what you need to learn first. This book covers a subset of the features of C++. The subset consists of features without which it's just not C++, and a handful of others that make it a reasonably useful language. You can actually use this subset (using any compiler) to get familiar with the basics of the language. After reading this book, you'll be far better equipped to get something useful out of a reference manual, a graphical user interface programming book, and maybe a book on the specific libraries you'll be using. (Take a look at our companion book, Practical C++ Programming.) C++: The Core Language includes sidebars that give overviews of all the advanced features not covered, so that readers know they exist and how they fit in. It covers features common to all C++ compilers, including those on UNIX, Windows NT, Windows, DOS, and Macs.

From the Publisher
C++ is an object-oriented enhancement of the C programming language and is becoming the language of choice for serious software development. C++ has crossed the Single Book Complexity Barrier. The individual features are not all that complex, but when put together in a program they interact in highly non-intuitive ways. Many books discuss each of the features separately, giving readers the illusion that they understand the language. But when they try to program, they're in for a painful surprise (even people who already know C). C++: The Core Language is for C programmers transitioning to C++. It's designed to get readers up to speed quickly by covering an essential subset of the language. The subset consists of features without which it's just not C++, and a handful of others that make it a reasonably useful language. You can actually use this subset (using any compiler) to get familiar with the basics of the language. Once you really understand that much, it's time to do some programming and learn more from other books. After reading this book, you'll be far better equipped to get something useful out of a reference manual, a graphical user interface programming book, and maybe a book on the specific libraries you'll be using. (Take a look at our companion book, Practical C++ Programming.) C++: The Core Language includes sidebars that give overviews of all the advanced features not covered, so that readers know they exist and how they fit in. It covers features common to all C++ compilers, including those on UNIX, Windows NT, Windows, DOS, and Macintosh. Comparison: C++: The Core Language vs. Practical C++ Programming O'Reilly's policy is not to publish two books on the same topic for the same audience. We'd rather spend twice the time on making one book the industry's best. So why do we have two C++ tutorials? Which one should you get? The answer is they're very different. Steve Oualline, author of the successful book Practical C Programming, came to us with the idea of doing a C++ edition. Thus was born Practical C++ Programming. It's a comprehensive tutorial to C++, starting from the ground up. It also covers the programming process, style, and other important real-world issues. By providing exercises and problems with answers, the book helps you make sure you understand before you move on. While that book was under development, we received the proposal for C++: The Core Language. Its innovative approach is to cover only a subset of the language -- the part that's most important to learn first -- and to assume readers already know C. The idea is that C++ is just too complicated to learn all at once. So, you learn the basics solidly from this short book, which prepares you to understand some of the 200+ other C++ books and to start programming. These two books are based on different philosophies and are for different audiences. But there is one way in which they work together. If you are a C programmer, we recommend you start with C++: The Core Language, then read about advanced topics and real-world problems in Practical C++ Programming.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; 1st edition (October 19, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156592116X
• ISBN-13: 978-1565921160
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #220,256 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for coverting programmers from C to C++, August 13, 1999

By A Customer

This wasn't the first book I picked up to learn C++. Initially, I thought it couldn't be as useful as "Practical C++" by Mark Terribile (McGraw Hill) which is three times its size. After reading through several grueling chapters, I picked up "C++: The Core Language" and what a difference (night and day)! Satir and Brown have done an excellent job of providing easy to follow examples when presenting structures vs. classes. They have totally demystified C++ for me. I highly recommend this book to anyone transitioning from C to C++.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Review Book for Programmers, April 12, 2001

By	John G. Ferguson "undoingemptyvoid" (Downingtown, PA USA) - See all my reviews

I had 7+ years C++ programming experience and then spent 3+ years in Java, XML, and JScript so I needed a nice, brief book which covered the core aspects of C++. Since it is only a reference I give it 4 stars. However, that's as high as I go for references, so it is a top drawer book.

Why do I like this book? It is very readable and quickly covers the key features of C++. I like it because it has little sidebars for discussion of more advanced topics. Core C++ is a small book for programmers... no bloatation.

This book doesn't get into heavy generic programming or type programming (with tons of operator overloads, cast operators and so forth), it is actually a book meant to help C programmers come over to C++. So, if you are a language geek or a C++ monster... get a different book. This is for C programmers and slightly rusty C++ programmers.

I would also say this book would be useful to Java programmers coming over to C++, since Java In in a Nutshell claims Java is more like C than C++ (and this seems true by my experience).

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teaches the ++, not the C, September 14, 2000

By	Zachary Cude (Tx United States) - See all my reviews

First and foremost you need to already know C in order to use this book. You need to be familiar with the entire language because the authors derive most of their examples by saying: "This is the concept, this is how you would do it in C (to see the basic mechanisms), and now here's how you do it in C++." This book does not hold your hand through this teaching though, they assume you know what you are doing and are following what they are talking about, which is okay by me. I personally don't like books that are really wordy and have alot of information I already know and so I waste my time and money on needless words. There needs to be more books like this one, just tell me the core concepts like what they do and why and the burden for learning and understanding them falls on me not the authors. One complaint that was echoed in an earlier review was the lack of disk I/O commands which are different enough in C++ to necessitate in me having to go to another book to look them up. How about an appendix or website or something like that, sure would be helpful. All in all, a very good book if you don't like all the B.S., fluff, and general page filling that you see on the bookshelves (aka. every book except O'Reily's).