Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Second Semester Text!
Review: I've just finished a data structures course at the University of Maryland. This was the required text. This book "turned the light on" for me. Every other programming course/text I've had focused on the syntax of C++. This book focuses on the art of programming. The authors go to great pains to demonstrate program design independent of implementation. To do this, they place great emphasis on software engineering principles. Some students new to programming may not have a full appreciation for this methodology, but as a software tester, I completely understand and agree with the author's approach. First, design the program from the logical point of view. Then, build to the application level. With the understanding gained from the two previous steps, THEN make the implementation decisions. There is much more pseudocode than source code in each chapter. But the pseudocode is so complete that it is easily transformed into source. This book has helped me make the leap from being a mere "coder" to a fledging programmer. From conversations with senior programs at my job, this text covers all the most important data structures that every programmer should understand and be able to implement. I suspect that those reviewers who found this book unintelligible were too new to programming.
Rating: 
Summary: *NOT* an Excellent Second Semester Text!
Review: Like another reviewer, I used this required text in a data structures course at the University of Maryland. I attend the University of Maryland through UMUC, the online unit of the school, so having a good text is very important. Unlike the other reviewer for the University of Maryland, I very much disliked this book.A prerequisite to this course is an introductory C++ course that uses "Programming and Problem Solving with C++" which Nell Dale co-authored. I found "Programming and Problem Solving" to be pretty good and I earned a strong 'A' in the course. This book however was awful. Put simply, the material was too difficult to understand. My average at the end of the course would have earned me an F if the final grades hadn't been curved, which gave me a B. Perhaps this material is too complex for a one-semester course. I am unable to make this call since I still don't understand any of it. Regardless, the book was written to teach various concepts in a one-semester course and it fails to do much else than to frustrate the student.
Rating:
Summary: We can do better than this.
Review: Not recommended for anyone who wants to learn C++ programming. This second edition is no better than the first. The authors do attempt to cover more material and integrate ANSI/ISO standards into the book. However, everything was added haphazardly. Principles and techniques were toss into pages in locations that did not relate to the subject matter. A severe lack of concrete examples is a major downfall of the book. The authors use only two programs throughout the whole book. Furthermore, NONE of the programs worked. Yes, it is true that the authors expect the various fazes of the examples to be completed by the students, but they should at least work. The most interesting thing about the book is the fact that many universities use this book to try to educate students on C++ programming. No wander there are so few programmers in the working market. True, programming isn't for everyone. But, people who are interested in learning how to program using C++ should be given a fair chance to learn. I also have several other C++ programming books. Some of these explain various principles and techniques better than others. Nonetheless, none of them come close to complete. Since I am not a true programmer by any sense of the word. I recommend that at least one of you professional programmers and educators sit down and write something filled with multiple examples (wear it out!) that conforms to standards. The books (no one book can truly teach anything within one thousand pages) should spend as much time as possible covering each format. Suggestion of programming format should be included. A complete and unambiguous Standard Template Library as well as a listing of all the include files with usage is a must have within these pages. A project like this will run more than 5000 pages. But these books should be written with the interest of care and not finance and deadlines. Will people want to buy a set like this? I strongly believe so. One complete set is better than a bunch of hit and miss references.
Rating: 
Summary: Night and Day
Review: Please understand these are not the comments of a bitter student, but an A one, and a good programmer too. If you liked Dale's first book, "Programming and Problem Solving with C++", I believe you will be deeply disappointed with this one. Maybe the difference is in the Co-Authors? While "Programming and Problem Solving with C++" is clear and concise learning tool with great examples, I have found C++ Plus Data Structures to be difficult to read and full of errors. The examples in this book are somewhat descent but have been ruined by constant errors. I have since read other books that give much better perspective. If you read this book during a second semester course, you are sure to leave still wondering to yourself "what the heck is a template".
Rating:
Summary: If there is a hell, This book created it.
Review: The Author of this book shoves down your throat so much information too quickly. The examples are to complicated and are not explained enough. The information that the book should teach is not in the book. If you have a C class your thinking of taking and the teacher picks this book. Shoot yourself first before you even think about taking the course with this book. This book is harder to read than the manuals that come with your compiler. Have you ever tried to read the books that come with your c++ compiler? Its hard. This book is much harder to read than the books that come with your compiler. Unless you are insane or a have a Phd. Don't buy this book. You could spend days reading one page and never understand what this author is talking about. I would not even waste a match to burn this book.
Rating:
Summary: Pedantic
Review: The best term I can find to describe this book is pedantic. There is too much boring text and it lacks illustrative examples. When there are examples, they are usually short pieces that do not show how the entire concept fits into a C++ program. I understand that the authors are attempting to explain more theoretical concepts, but programmers like to program and this is too theoretical.
Rating:
Summary: Pedantic
Review: The best term I can find to describe this book is pedantic. There is too much boring text and it lacks illustrative examples. When there are examples, they are usually short pieces that do not show how the entire concept fits into a C++ program. I understand that the authors are attempting to explain more theoretical concepts, but programmers like to program and this is too theoretical.
Rating:
Summary: Bad book!
Review: The book is really bad and has nothing interesting inside.
Do not speand your time to study it!
Rating: 
Summary: This book assumes that you have a strong understaning of C
Review: This book assumes that you have already been exposed to C++. It is not intended to be a beginner book. The first chapter covers software engineering techniques. Chapter two covers abstract data types (i.e., classes and structs).
Rating: 
Summary: Great Refrence Book for Programmer w/ Basic Knowledge
Review: This book is a great refrence book for data structure. The style might be confusing to some, but the structure and many examples are actually carefully written in most effective way. Reader must understand C++ class, otherwise the structure does not make sense. I read it for AP Com. Sci. exam and refered to it while in college. Recommend to all advance programmer.
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