C++ Solutions: Companion to the C++ Programming Language (3rd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: A real "cop out", if I ever did see one.
Review: First of all, C++ is a very difficult language to learn, and even moreso to master. It requires years of constant practice and learning to reach near the mountain top, and Stroustrup's book, "The C++ Programming Language" is among the most difficult to read and understand (ESPECIALLY for those just starting out).

After reading and using other authors' books that were kinder and gentler in helping me understand the language, from time to time I would refer back to Stroustrup's book to see how much of it I could grasp. Therefore, when this book "C++ Solutions: Companion to the C++ Programming Language (3rd Edition)" came out, I snatched it up within a heart beat, seeing how it presented itself as an answer book to the questions in Stroustrup's work. "At last," I thought, "an answer book to one of the most difficult books on the language."

BULL!!

It wasn't until I got home and really began going through this "so called" answer book, that I discovered a LOT of the questions Stroustrup asked in his book, WERE NOT ANSWERED AT ALL in this book. To be more precise, about HALF the questions (and sometimes less) in Stroustrup's book went UNANSWERED in this author's book, and to make matters worst, it was the more difficult half that were NOT answered.

Many times the author would simply give "Hints" as his answers, and nothing more, and even with that, it would amount to less than half the number of questions Stroustrup may have asked. Take 'Chapter 10' as an example, Stroustrup gave 20 questions there to be answered; the author answered just 8. What kind of help is that? What kind of help can someone expect to receive from such a book, especially one that advertised itself as an answer book? And this sort of practice repeated itself in each and every chapter; no exception.

Turn the table around and look at matters from a different perspective. Suppose there was no answer book and you had to answer Stroustrup's questions yourself, would you consider answering 8 out of a total of 20, sufficient to demonstrate your understanding and grasp of the language? Why did Stroustrup ask 20 questions in the first place? He asked 20 questions for you to give 20 answers; that's why. And after you've spent your money on a book that advertised itself as an answer book that only answered half the number of questions (the easier half), figure for yourself if you got a good deal.

Rating:
Summary: A real "cop out", if I ever did see one.
Review: First of all, C++ is a very difficult language to learn, and even moreso to master. It requires years of constant practice and learning to reach near the mountain top, and Stroustrup's book, "The C++ Programming Language" is among the most difficult to read and understand (ESPECIALLY for those just starting out).

After reading and using other authors' books that were kinder and gentler in helping me understand the language, from time to time I would refer back to Stroustrup's book to see how much of it I could grasp. Therefore, when this book "C++ Solutions: Companion to the C++ Programming Language (3rd Edition)" came out, I snatched it up within a heart beat, seeing how it presented itself as an answer book to the questions in Stroustrup's work. "At last," I thought, "an answer book to one of the most difficult books on the language."

BULL!!

It wasn't until I got home and really began going through this "so called" answer book, that I discovered a LOT of the questions Stroustrup asked in his book, WERE NOT ANSWERED AT ALL in this book. To be more precise, about HALF the questions (and sometimes less) in Stroustrup's book went UNANSWERED in this author's book, and to make matters worst, it was the more difficult half that were NOT answered.

Many times the author would simply give "Hints" as his answers, and nothing more, and even with that, it would amount to less than half the number of questions Stroustrup may have asked. Take 'Chapter 10' as an example, Stroustrup gave 20 questions there to be answered; the author answered just 8. What kind of help is that? What kind of help can someone expect to receive from such a book, especially one that advertised itself as an answer book? And this sort of practice repeated itself in each and every chapter; no exception.

Turn the table around and look at matters from a different perspective. Suppose there was no answer book and you had to answer Stroustrup's questions yourself, would you consider answering 8 out of a total of 20, sufficient to demonstrate your understanding and grasp of the language? Why did Stroustrup ask 20 questions in the first place? He asked 20 questions for you to give 20 answers; that's why. And after you've spent your money on a book that advertised itself as an answer book that only answered half the number of questions (the easier half), figure for yourself if you got a good deal.

Rating:
Summary: This book is great for reference. Keep on desk!
Review: I liked this book cause it does not go into a lot of details.It just give you a quivk review of what you need to know at moment. I think, this book is great for reference and should be kept on desk.

Rating:
Summary: A book to generate ideas about C++ programming...
Review: My name is spelled David Vandevoorde, but often you'll just see or hear "Daveed".

My "C++ Solutions" book discusses answers to exercises Bjarne Stroustrup presents in his most recent (third) edition of "The C++ Programming Language". Bjarne's book is widely recognized as being "the bible" among tutorials and references on C++. Yet, while a good programming book is a fantastic tool to acquire software development expertise, it is not sufficient: only by practicing your skills will you sharpen them. To focus such practicing, you will find "C++ Solutions" a good source of ideas: ideas to tackle problems, ideas you can compare your own creations against, ideas to increase the performance and quality of software, and even ideas to generate more ideas.

I selected a little over 120 exercises from Bjarne's book, and proceeded to present ways to solve them. Naturally, there is rarely "one true way" to solve a problem, and hence you will find discussions of alternatives and compromises. Since the goal is to provide a relatively compact volume, I quite often suggest tangential avenues to explore, while sticking to the topic at hand. In fact, each of the 120+ discussions stands quite independently. Nonetheless, I think you'll appreciate Addison-Wesley's usual outstanding indexing and cross-referencing. The discussion is laced with references to Stroustrup's book so that readers can easily refer to his text to refresh a topic, and when exercises cover related topics they will also point to each other. For somewhat subtle language issues, I provide an in-place tutorial, and the first few chapters are a quick overview of key concepts and terminology, as well as suggestions to deal with various C++ compilers.

The exercises cover a broad spectrum of topics such as the standard library and its performance (with real reported numbers), the complete development of a strategy game, efficient operator overloading, file manipulations, object internals and so forth. The size and complexity of discussions also varies broadly. Hence, even though I target an audience of new C++ programmers, I believe moderately seasoned C++ programmers will also find the book a rich source of ideas.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent resource for self-teaching
Review: The canonical reference to C++ is "The C++ Programming Language" by Stroustrup. If you are learning C++ on your own, the book "C++ Solutions" is a great help in gaining insight into many of the exercises Stroustrup suggests.

Updated source code can be download from the author's website. Which is good, because there are some errors in the book source.

Also, on some Exercises, the author assumes knowledge that has not yet been introduced in the Stroustrup book. So, there is a little jumping around.

The writing is clear and explanations are good.

Minor faults aside, this is a VERY helpful book for newbies to C++, and I would recommend it to anyone learning C++ on thier own.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent resource for self-teaching
Review: The canonical reference to C++ is "The C++ Programming Language" by Stroustrup. If you are learning C++ on your own, the book "C++ Solutions" is a great help in gaining insight into many of the exercises Stroustrup suggests.

Updated source code can be download from the author's website. Which is good, because there are some errors in the book source.

Also, on some Exercises, the author assumes knowledge that has not yet been introduced in the Stroustrup book. So, there is a little jumping around.

The writing is clear and explanations are good.

Minor faults aside, this is a VERY helpful book for newbies to C++, and I would recommend it to anyone learning C++ on thier own.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent resource for self-teaching
Review: The canonical reference to C++ is "The C++ Programming Language" by Stroustrup. If you are learning C++ on your own, the book "C++ Solutions" is a great help in gaining insight into many of the exercises Stroustrup suggests.

Updated source code can be download from the author's website. Which is good, because there are some errors in the book source.

Also, on some Exercises, the author assumes knowledge that has not yet been introduced in the Stroustrup book. So, there is a little jumping around.

The writing is clear and explanations are good.

Minor faults aside, this is a VERY helpful book for newbies to C++, and I would recommend it to anyone learning C++ on thier own.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, but read the back cover or description!
Review: To all those that complain that this book doesn't answer all the questions in Stroustrup's book, the hint is in the phrase "C++ Solutions, provides insightful, logical, and easy-to-follow solutions to selected exercises found in The C++ Programming Language". See the word "selected"? Bit of a give away isn't it?!

Nevertheless, there is enough goodness in this book to justify it's existence, so if you have Stroustrup's book then this is well worth looking at.


Rating:
Summary: Excellent learning tool
Review: Vandervoorde is one of the emerging experts on C++. In this book he guides you through many of the exercises in "The C++ Programming Language". As he does so he fills in many of the gaps, and provides extra insight that you might not gleam just from reading the original book, but what he really does is let you stand by his shoulder as he works out some of the problems.

As a bonus he even asks his own questions. These are to get you thinking instead of just observing. Like Stroustrup he realizes that we learn by both thinking deeply about things and having an excellent guide. However, it's up to you to talk the extra step. No one can hold your hand for the entire time.

Those looking for every answer may be dissappointed. However, they are missing the point, and no doubt will probably never master the language. What this book does is give you a glimpse into how a expert would solve some of the problems. You get to compare how you would go about it. For the beginning to intermediate programmer there is no better way to learn.

(However, even the advanced programmer can learn a thing or two with this book.)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent learning tool
Review: Vandervoorde is one of the emerging experts on C++. In this book he guides you through many of the exercises in "The C++ Programming Language". As he does so he fills in many of the gaps, and provides extra insight that you might not gleam just from reading the original book, but what he really does is let you stand by his shoulder as he works out some of the problems.

As a bonus he even asks his own questions. These are to get you thinking instead of just observing. Like Stroustrup he realizes that we learn by both thinking deeply about things and having an excellent guide. However, it's up to you to talk the extra step. No one can hold your hand for the entire time.

Those looking for every answer may be dissappointed. However, they are missing the point, and no doubt will probably never master the language. What this book does is give you a glimpse into how a expert would solve some of the problems. You get to compare how you would go about it. For the beginning to intermediate programmer there is no better way to learn.

(However, even the advanced programmer can learn a thing or two with this book.)