Rating: 
Summary: The best book of its kind out there!!!
Review: I completely disagree with the comments made by some of the reviewers who gave this book a low score. Obviously, they haven't looked at enough C++ books yet. I'm a self-taught programmer and BELIEVE ME, you can learn sound programming with this book. I do agree with some of the comments made earlier by Edwin Alexander; but, you have to remember that no book is perfect. I have many C++ program books in my house and I consider Deitel's C++ book (like others in their series) a classic. The book teaches sound-programming techniques and is complete as far as the minimum required to become a good C++ programmer. Moreover, the book has a writing style that makes learning easy. As a bonus, the book also throws in some very handy tips (portability, common errors, etc.) I am a great fan of the Deitel book series. I'm so confident of their books that I usually buy them without even looking at the content. One of the good things their books have is that they all follow the same format. So when you read one of their books, you become familiar with the others. This makes the reading much easier and, as a result, the cross over to other languages is quicker. More importantly, and as a consequence of the similar format the books carry, you are able to identify the similarities and differences between programming languages. This is very important because it makes you aware of the common foundations in programming and the advantages that each programming language has over the others for specific applications. This is a BIG PLUS.
Rating:
Summary: A great book for the beginner and the advanced user
Review: I am a CS major and this book was chosen for the text book. (Actually the 2/e was the book I got, and I decided to get the 3/e since my first book fell apart due to way over use) (and me being a college student i didnt take the best care of it)....anyways, the book is very well written for the beginner, and as you become more advanced, the book no longer becomes a textbook, but a reference book. there are countless times when I had to go to the book to look up a certain function i forgot to use. some people say the book is too advanced (based on reading the reviews), but so is programming. i admit, i did come into College w/ knowledge from High School, but i seen absolute beginners in my course when i was a freshman here and they all did fine using this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book for going over syntax feature, not OO Design stuff
Review: This book was a text book for the low level of C++ class. I think that this is a pretty good one for studying c++ syntax feature itself. You can have a chance to review a basic inherited C systax eighter. If you want find a good C++ syntax book, I think this is a great solution.
Rating: 
Summary: Great only if you already know C++
Review: I am very glad that the authors of this book are at MIT. However they should remember that not all of us are that smart. As an introductory book of C++, this is a nightmare. Many of the references in the book would only make sense to an experienced programmer. Keep other books handing when reading this so that you can make sense of what the Deitels are saying.
Rating:
Summary: The best C++ Book out there -period.
Review: I can't believe some of these reviews. This book is simply the standard. I learned C++ from these guys and am now working through their Java book. This is the perfect book for all levels of students from beginner to advanced. I still use this book daily for reference at work. I would recommend this book above any other. ALso try their training kits, they are the best deal with lots of software included.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book for beginners, but a little wordy
Review: The book does a good job of explainin concepts of C++, but it is way too wordy. For beginners it isn't a bad book to get because they explain things in detail, but if you want a reference manual or something a little more advanced, this would not be the book to get.
Rating:
Summary: How Not To Write a Book on Programming
Review: In My Opinion the Entire Deitel & Deitel series is marred by the fact that the books are way too verbose, with all sorts of tips, many of which are flat out wrong; they are never about programming in the language, but rather seem to be written using the crudest of techniques, and that, in the case of the C++ book, are almost ashamed of the specifics of the language (e.g. pointers, dynamic memory and classes). For example the new and delete operators are introduced in a 1 page sub-section of chapter 7! The start of which begins with the observation that "new and delete operators provide a nicer means of performing dynamic memory allocation ... than with C's malloc and free function calls." Which is fine, except that presumably the student knows nothing abut malloc and free!! And what does "nicer" mean. I find this type of writing to be generally unhelpful in the teaching of the language. Another problem is that nowhere that I can find do they actually talk about implementing the Edit/Compile/Link/Execute cycle. I find no information about the various compilers/linkers and IDE's. I am forced to used this book in a C++ course that I teach (I am part/time & apparently the full/time faculty picks the book). I can testify that students are very unhappy with it.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Intro. C++ Text , But with A Few Faults
Review: This book is the standard text for the introductory C++ programming course at my university, and I additionally teach out of it for the beginning of our data structures course. I find that the strengths of this book are the examples as well as the tips and common errors that the authors mention. They obviously went through great pains to be comprehensive. There are two main weaknesses to the book, however. First, a few of the examples show output that is incorrect -- these are fairly obvious. Second, and this is a major obstacle with any introductory C++ text, true object-oriented programming is not really conveyed to the reader until Chapter 6. Until then, the reader is essentially taught how to program in the imperative sense. Thus, the reader first learns how to solve a problem algorithmically by breaking down a problem into parts and building up a solution. The reader then learns that the new approach is to consider the types of information needed and to create classes and objects that promote structure and reusability. However, old habits die hard and I've seen more students get confused by writing OO code while thinking in the pure imperative sense than I'd care to remember. This, however, is a problem with ALL introductory C++ textbooks (and reflects the fact that C++ is a pseudo-OO language), and not just Deitel and Deitel. Also, since objects aren't introduced until Chapter 6, the authors get in the position of using things that haven't been defined yet. There are a few areas where some object or method is used and it's actually covered about ten chapters down the road. All things considered though, this book is an excellent text -- just watch for the paradigm shift and don't get stuck in between them. Deitel and Deitel put out some of the best language books around, and if they came up with one that introduced C++ to the novice in the OO sense from the start, I'll be the first one in line to get it.
Rating: 
Summary: ok - if you're a programming guru
Review: I used this book for a C++ programming class. The book contains a lot of information, but C++ beginners will find it hard to digest. I had some programming experience with BASIC and Pascal, but none with C or C++. I feel that this book does not have enough examples of code. It also does not explain things clearly for those who are new to languages like C++. If you are just starting out with C++, try another book. If you have had extensive programming experience, you might appreciate the brief treatment of basic information.
Rating:
Summary: A good, solid, informative book!
Review: Let me start by saying thank you to Paul and Harvey for educating me in C and C++. I first obtained their books (with a boring red Prentice Hall logo cover) about 4 years ago... and it has allowed me to educate myself and develop my thinking and analysis skills when coming to engineering software. It clarified and reinforced what was being taught at university. Although C / C++ was not relevant in my 1st job (that being of COBOL), the reasoning and structured development was easily utilised. The book may seem a little steep to some, but it suited me very well. I liked the way it gave you clear examples to play around with, and did not attempt to "sugar-coat" the path of learning. Overall, I think the book is great to read, and very easy to understand. I have gone on to purchase the 3rd edition.
| 
