Rating: 
Summary: Useless
Review: Don't be fooled by the title. This volume is merely a warmed-over C/C++ primer to which has been appended a superficial 80-page section on the C++Builder IDE. There is only the most paltry discussion of using C++Builder to construct Windows GUIs and applications. If you already know C and C++, this book will be of no use to you. If your aim is to build Windows GUIs using C++Builder, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Completely Lisleading
Review: I have never seen a more misleading book in my entire life. Here is the problem. The title of this book is "Borland C++ Builder - The Complete Reference". Most of the book is on the C language (even if you wanted to learn C, I wouldn't recommend this book because, to me, it appears to be much of a reproduction of the Help Files). OK, Microsoft Windows in written in C; but this book doesn't even teach how to create Windows using C. Then you get to the few chapters (I mean the fea pages) on C++. This section is completely useless because, if the author wanted to write a book on C++, the title of the book would be different; and a C++ learner would expect more than a few pages. I agree: some of the VCL functions, not classes, are documented. Still, the author didn't go farther than the Help Files. I agree that the book is not meant for a particular version but the fact that it pretends to be a C++ Builder "Complete Reference" would cover issues that are common to all versions. This is unfortunate because the author was trying to exploit the lack of documentation on C++ Builder. If you cannot write on the best C++ RAD in the world, stick to the non-RAD, which is MSVC. Nobody will complain.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book on C++ Builder!!
Review: I really enjoyed this book on C++ Builder. It had thorough coverage on classes, pointers, and how to use builder IDE. Even the more complex topics were covered in a simple, understandable way. I also liked the debugging chapter!
Rating: 
Summary: Not as complete as it sounds
Review: I was hoping for a book that discussed the many special features of Borland Builder rather than a rehash of C and C++ information. The book does describe for beginners, and perhaps intermediates, the basics of C and C++ in detail, but on the Builder side no information about Borland extentions such as AnsiString, properties, and __finally. Less than 5% of the book has any Builder specific information. I bought Builder to write Windows applications and there is little about Windows in this book. In the functional descriptions it is hard to determine if the function discussed is a standard, an addition or a depricated function without a careful reading of the text. A header like Borland used to have with a compatibility chart for each function would have helped. Books like the set that Borland used to produce detailed all the features of the language. That would be what I would expect in a "Complete Reference". The Borland on-line help has lots of problems (at least in B4), so a good text about Builder specifics is still needed because this is not that text.
Rating:
Summary: We have the C, now where's the Builder?
Review: It's unfortunate that this book devotes only a handful of pages
to BCB because there are so few books on this software to
begin with. I may have to write my own book on Borland C++
Builder if nobody else does soon. This book talk about the "C" language. To anyone buying this
book, they expect to see distinct coverage of the Borland C++
Builder version 5 development environment. Instead, they get
"Introduction to C". It's never hard to find a book on
Visual C++, why is it so hard to find a current book on
the superior product of Borland C++ Builder 5? There is so much to know about Builder specifically that you
could write three or four books on it and still not cover
everything. Your best bet is to simply use the Developers
Guide that comes with the product and the IDE manual also
included. It helps more than any book you'll find in a
bookstore currently.
Rating:
Summary: where is Borland C++ Builder in this book
Review: On the 977 pages of the book, 548 are about C, 325 pages are about C++ (Standard template library included) and barely 89 pages (!!!) on Borland C++ Builder. Nothing is said about the VCL, MFC or any specificificity of the Borland C++ compiler. The title is totally misleading.
Rating:
Summary: Borland C++ Builder: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complet
Review: The book title (and the author) lies to readers. The book describes basically C++ language and it contains very little content about the C++ builder. I am so disappointed at the book and I am fully disatisified with the money I spent on the book.
Rating:
Summary: Out of subject
Review: This book concentrates on c++, but it doesn't mention much about C++ Builder. I do not recomended it, if you want to learn Borland C++ Builder.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book!
Review: This book covers the entire C++ language, plus the C subset. It covers all of the functions and class libraries supported by C++ Builder. It also explains how to run the Builder environment and debug programs. I like this book.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but not great.
Review: This book has a lot of good information for people who are interested in learning C++. I have had experience programming in other languages, but this was my first time using C++. The book was well written and easy to learn, but I felt disappointed at the lack of information on the actual Builder Environment. The information and example program is a great start on learning to use the Builder, but the book could have used 4 or 5 more chapters on it. I have learned a lot about C++ programming from this book, but unfortunately I am going to have to buy another book to learn more about the Builder.
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