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Practical C Programming: Why Does 2+2 = 5986? (Nutshell Handbooks) 3rd Edition

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Steve Oualline (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 627 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-1565923065
ISBN-10: 1565923065
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  • Practical C Programming: Why Does 2+2 = 5986? (Nutshell Handbooks)
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Product Details

  • Series: Nutshell Handbooks
  • Paperback: 456 pages
  • Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 3rd edition (August 11, 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1565923065
  • ISBN-13: 978-1565923065
  • Product Dimensions: 7 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (627 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #306,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 starsFundamental Book, but should be last read
By A Customer on April 11, 2001
Format: Hardcover
This book is written in the way creator Bjarne Stroustrup sees his language and how his language should be used. This book is not thin on material for the intermediate to advanced C++ software engineer.
One word in warning to potential buyers: You better be sharp with your STL skills before reading this book. Stroustrup writes his implementations around the STL which is not covered from a tutorial style in this book before he introduces it, which tells you that he meant for this book strictly as a reference not as a readers book. This critism is constructive, not disruptive, but I have been programming in standard ANSI/ISO C++ for 9 years, this book is best understood if you read the following first, if not, this book for even an itermediate C++ program cannot be digested to the fullest and you will reading this book fooling yourself of how much knowledge you have attained, when in reality, all that you have accomplished is reading this book so that you can say that you read Stroustrup, which is foolish, so read these first:
1) C++ Primer 3rd Edition: Stanley Lippman Addison Wesley Books Strengths: If you are starting out with C++ with no C++ experience, this book covers every facet beginner to advanced topics, such as fundamental classes, class design covering nested class and intense class scoping rules, which Stroustrups book does not cover, there is no reference to nested classes and access privileges with nested classes with Stroustrup's book. The chapters on function templates and another chapter on class templates are the most complete and thorough beyound what you need to know for richness is explained brilliantly and better than scant coverage in Stroustrup's.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsGood Reference, But Some Mistakes
By Travis Parks on June 9, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I have had the Special Edition sitting on my shelf for the past 10 years. I have always relished it, just like K&R's "The C Programming Language". Even though I don't program in either language on a day-to-day basis, I find their contents invaluable examples of how to stay in-touch with the machine.

Bjarne went all out and rewrote a good bit of this book, reusing some examples from the previous editions. I have been seeing entirely new and revised examples for the most part. I particularly like how he broke up some of the longer chapters from previous editions into more manageable parts. My only disappointment with this book are the little mistakes. Someone familiar with C++ should understand the intent, but it may confuse some. This book adds a LOT of new content and reorganized a lot of the previous content, so mistakes are understandable.

This book makes an excellent reference. I have already used it extensively to upgrade a personal project to C++11. This has been essential for replacing Boost libraries with the new standard library. If you are trying to play catch-up (like myself) it's definitely worth it. It explains move semantics, variadic templates, the new memory model and many of the new language features.

As with previous editions, not only is a good book for learning C++... it teaches a lot about good programming in general.
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4.0 out of 5 starsAre You Experienced?
By Andrew McCaffrey VINE VOICE on December 12, 2002
Format: Paperback
Bjarne Stroustrup's THE C++ PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE is ideal for those potential buyers who already know 75% of what is written in the book. But please note that this is not necessarily a put-down or a bad thing. This book is reference material for people who are already familiar with the concepts and syntax of C++. If you're looking to learn C++ from scratch, then run far and run quickly away from this book. On the other hand, if you're an experienced coder who's looking to remember specific details, or an intermediate who's looking for some nitty-gritty information, then this is a highly recommended reference book.
The writing is meticulous and often obscure. But Stroustrup packs in a lot of detail into every page. The example code is short and to the point. He assumes that if you don't get what he's talking about the first time, then further examples aren't going to help; and most of the time this assumption is justified, as his terse code manages to convey everything that it needs to.
You really do need to have experience with C++ to understand a lot of his examples though, as often he will casually mention a concept or function that he won't get around to defining for another few hundred pages. After all, most of the features in C++ interact heavily with other functions, so it's not really possible to explain some things without explaining their relationships (even if they are relating to things that the text has not yet brought up). But, as I said, this is reference material, and such conventions are allowable and, at times, encouraged. I am much happier with a book like this that gives me all of the detail necessary than an introductory book that would only offer simplistic explanations in the beginning while holding out for the details towards the end.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent, useful, complete. Requires interest and effort.
By Clayton on January 10, 2000
Format: Paperback
This book is inappropriate for a person who is new to programming. It is even more inappropriate for a quick-and-easy programmer who wants to learn practical skills as quickly as possible but lacks the interest and desire to achieve a high level of skill.
Bookshelves are overflowing with books for these two types of people. Instead of adding another title to that flood, Bjarne Stroustrup delivers a well-written, well-structured book that helps in a challenging area where good resources like this one are needed.
To those who dislike the writing style, I say "sorry, find another book." If you find the sentences hard to read, it is because they are written at a level of clarity and precision required by the concepts. If you find the concepts hard to understand, it is because they are presented with an insightfulness and thoroughness required by the academic/technical audience it is written for. This is neither your fault nor the author's: the book just wasn't written for you.
When I was learning C++, I also found this book difficult and challenging, but with effort I was able to read and understand it. The more I know, the more useful the book is to me, and the happier I am that I put in that effort. In a sense it is a complete reference not only to the language but also to the design paradigm(s) that inspired the language.
The concepts of OOP / generic programming aren't too bad at the surface level. But try and understand them enough to use them to construct complicated systems well, and they are genuinely hard. Every time I struggled with some aspect of the book, I realized once I understood it that Stroustrup had presented it in the best way possible. That's the best part of this book: you can trust that the author is guiding you from a position of knowledge and experience. But what else should we expect from the creator of C++? We are implicitly trusting him anyway by using his language.
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