A few centuries late for the show, at the Colosseum
Classic Reviewer Rank: 2,355
Helpful votes received on reviews, lists & guides:
66% (1,279 of 1,941)
Nickname: sirio_a
Location: Chiavari, Italy
Birthday: June 20(Saved Remind mePlease RetryPlease Retry)
In My Own Words:
In my 30s, italian, currently living in Italy, obviously bookwormish, I just wish I could earn a living by reading books,but have not been able to find out how so far :( My interests are literature, astrophysics, computer programming. Favorite languages (and the one in which I feel decently competent) are "the C family": Java C, C++, C#. Graphics programming, AI and numerical simulations are the t… Read moreIn my 30s, italian, currently living in Italy, obviously bookwormish, I just wish I could earn a living by reading books,but have not been able to find out how so far :(
My interests are literature, astrophysics, computer programming. Favorite languages (and the one in which I feel decently competent) are "the C family": Java C, C++, C#. Graphics programming, AI and numerical simulations are the things I really like but I do web-database-enterprise-yadda-yadda business programming when seriously broke and starved. My non paper-related interests are travelling, foreign languages and cultures, playing beach volley and tennis. Politically definitely a leftist, my best friend is a Berlusconi fan so you might conclude I am tolerant after all, but I can't stand Bush and everyone that supports his blood-for-oil enterprise. I review mostly in the programming area because I often find myself in debt to people who have pointed me to some valid tech book or saved me from wasting money on a poor one,. Amazon has just recently started to censor some of my reviews, so you will not find all of my thoughts here, but the one you will find are correct.
|
|
Reviews
Classic Reviewer Rank: 2,355
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
What can I say? This book is by far the best choice for a "introduction to programming" college class or for self study for anyone serious about learning programming. It offers depth, clearness, vision, wisdom and raw technical skill far beyond the reach of any of its competitors..
What really amazes me is that Stroustrup has managed to write a book that's really, essentially about learning what programming is and how to do it best, using C++ just as a useful tool avoiding the trap of cherishing and exalting his "creature" bringing it to center stage and instead letting it do its quiet work in the background.
Seeing someone with caliber, history, skills and reputation of… Read more
|
|
|
Disclaimer: I have very little appreciation for web services technology so my ideas on this book might suffer from that. My general opinion on the existence and success of web services technology is , to quote Dijkstra: "Simplicity is a great virtue but it requires hard work to achieve it and education to appreciate it. And to make matters worse: complexity sells better".
Anyhow, back to the review. This book has actually many fine points: it's code driven, to the point, informal and packed with interesting info...so why do I give it only 3 stars? Well.. because it s' too informal and packed with info. This book reminds me of an old professor of mine who was really a brilliant… Read more
|
|
|
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
In italian we have this fun saying" "Dalle stelle alle stalle" which can be translated to "From the stars to the stables" meaning going from brilliant and promising beginnings to a low and humbling ending.. well I find that it describes perfectly this book. Writing a bad tech book is already a mortal sin without making things even worse by raising reader's expectations with a pompous title like "tackling complexity in the heart of sofware". The only thing that this book tackles is the patience of the reader forced to wade through a sea of fluff to find the few interesting ideas that are actually present. It's not that this book contains zero value, it does present some interesting ideas,… Read more
|
Favorite Books
Interesting People & Friends
|
