Sams Teach Yourself Visual C++ 6 in 21 Days

Rating:
Summary: Not a carefully edited book
Review: This book starts out alright. The first few chapters are quite usefull in introducing the basics of VC++., controls, interfaces, etc. However, when you enter the 3rd week, numerous errors occur. Sometimes the reader can figure out how to correct them, but a lot times he/she is simply left wondering what to do after entering all the codes and the program doesn't run at all! I tried to contact the author through email (given in the book) but never got any reply from him. I think a responsible author should come out and give his revised codes on his webpage or somewhere in public so that readers of his book can have a means to continue reading his book. Otherwise, the reader will feel very, very disappointed at buying this book of his!

Rating:
Summary: Nice book with examples--but not for beginners
Review: This is a nice book with examples covering a lot VC advanced topics, such as database, internet, Active X programmings, even grid control. It is good for an intermediate or advanced programmers to review and learn some advanced topics. I noticed negative comments that were written by such beginners who knows NO C++ before reading the book. MFC is not for those people without knowledge of C++ (any MFC book will make no sense to such beginners. They should work on MS office or VB). I found some chapters are not suitable for pure beginners. But for intermediate to advanced programmers, this is really a nice book.

Rating:
Summary: GOOD FOR LEARNING VISUAL C++
Review: This book is intended to learn how to use Visual C++ 6.0, not to learn C++. Inorder to get the most out of this book you need to first read a good book on learning C++ such as Steve Prata's C++ Primer Plus or Ivor Horton's Beginning Visual C++. These are two excellent books on learning C++. If you don't go to one these first you will not like the book. Alot of the negative reviews are from individuals with no or little C++ experience. As far as the errors go, their are a few and should have been proofed before the book was sent to press.

Rating:
Summary: Fair introduction to Visual C++
Review: This is an OK book on Visual C++ but you must know C++ before reading it. It is helpful in explaining the MFC but there are better books out there. -LC (Global Mathematics, Inc)

Rating:
Summary: Ok... for learning to use MFC to build simple apps
Review: I'm pretty damn proficient in C++, mainly on UNIX though. This book does an ok job of introducing u to MFC. What it doesn't do is build on previous C++ knowledge or explain the connection between straight up C++ coding and GUI building with MFC. To reiterate the thoughts of other reviewers, this book is riddled w/ mistakes and too many instances of skimming only the surface of a topic; e.g., for ActiveX FlexGrids to accept data, there is a 1 paragraph explanation (pg. 197) which suggests the reader create a "floating" edit box. But there is no reference within the book (nor the whole friggin' MSDN Help Library) to the existence of these controls. Please email me if u know how to do this! Conclusion: a good buy if you're aware your buying a Wizard guide, and DON'T except to learn 1 thing about C++ itself.

Rating:
Summary: A complete waste of money
Review: Having purchased numerous SAMS teach yourself books, e.g Visual Basic (which was superb) I expected more from this. After wasting huge amounts of time working through the examples you will end up having achieved absolutely nothing. The theory is weak, the examples likewise. Coverage of databases,ADO and so on is filled with huge examples which will teach you little more than how to type correctly. I was most dis-chuffed.

Rating:
Summary: Too many errors in this book
Review: I bought the book "Teach Yourself Visual C++ 6 in 21 Days" (professional reference edition) because I thought the MFC class reference might be useful. However, when I start to read it, I notice there are many errors. It seems that the authors did a lot of copy/paste to save typing but forgot to change the texts. I wonder if they do prove reading after finishing this book?

Rating:
Summary: Absolute Garbage
Review: I have been a professional programmer for more years than I care to think about. I am not that familiar with C++ so I decided to pick up a copy of the book. I read the first few chapters. The more that I got into the text the worse it becomes. I decided that this was not worth my time and effort. I am thinking about sending it back to the publisher and tell him what he can do with it. I certaintly haven't given up on learning more about C++; maybe the next book will be better. Maybe the author should think about another line of work.

Rating:
Summary: This book is not well-written
Review: I am a beginner in terms of Visual C++ programming. This book started out fine in the first few chapters but I noticed a lot of typo or just careless mistakes! The author does not explain the codes in detail, he simply expects the reader to type it in and understand it (not what beginners are looking for). There are also a lot of mistakes even in the instructions like the author says "Open Classwizard and add a function to OnContextMenu...", I couldn't find "OnContextMenu" in ClassWizard... instead I clicked on "Event" and added "OnContextMenu" first. These are some of the careless mistakes that the author did not see or even bother to check I guess. My point is... don't buy this book if you are a beginner!

Rating:
Summary: Book Has Specific Purpose
Review: This book does not teach C++ directly, nor does it really get under the hood in MFC. I have a large ammount of experience with C++, and have read some books on MFC as well; with this background, this book served me rather well as a handbook on how to perform routine stuff. Those who are uncomplimentary of this book seem fall into one of two catagories: Those who don't know C++ or MFC and expect one book to quickly teach them both (not possible), and those who understand C++ but want an in depth book on MFC. If you don't understand C++, this book will frustrate you to no end; read a C++ language book first. If you are interested in MFC, then buy a book on MFC. If you already know C++ and are familiar with MFC from a "big picture" perspective, but you want to learn how to use the VC environment and to apply some MFC and such, then this book is not so bad. Errors in the example code prevent this book from getting five stars. All in all, it's a good book, but with a fairly narrow purpose.