A Computer Science Tapestry: Exploring Computer Science with C++

Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this book if you either...
Review: A) Have any computer programming background. OR B) Don't have any programming background at all.

This is a horrible book for beginning computer science because it uses C++. I'm not putting down C++ at all. Here's the problem though. C++ allows the user to take certain things for granted, such as overloading. "cout" is just some magical thing that works. If we were using C, we would have to use printf(), or even better, puts() which would make the beginning programmer learn where his stuff goes when he puts it on the screen. I took AP Computer Science for the heck of it in high school and was presented with this book. Already, being a C programmer, I laugh at it. The teacher, with a little help from the book I guess (I don't pick it up for reference ever), emphesizes the "black box" which means for instance, "We don't care how sqrt() works, we just know it does." This is wrong when you're teaching computer science. Computer science has to have theory and the nitty gritty for it to be taught well. This book also stresses itself as revolving around OOP (Object Oriented Programming). Well, familiarize yourself with object theory and you will learn that C++ isn't 100% kosher OOP. "True" OOP doesn't have a main function. Another gripe I have is that the programs are lame and don't serve the user any real purpose in making them. One more gripe is that Astrachan's code is sloppy and it looks like he wrote the book and then threw code together in a cram to get it to the editor. His formatting style changes depending on what code you're reading, and this is very annoying. This is not a good book for a beginner, nor anyone advanced. Buy A First Book Of ANSI C (ISBN 0314073361), The C Programming Language (ISBN 0131103709), and then if you really wanna learn C++, buy O'Reilly's C++: The Core Language (ISBN 156592116X) which is a book specifically designed for programmers moving from C to C++. Also consider Sedgewick's Algorithms in C or C++. I have them all and they are all good books. However, DON'T buy these books if you need pictures in the margins telling you why 2^3 is 8.

Rating:
Summary: negative points would be given if possible
Review: I am a former student of Dr. Astrachan at Duke, and his goal in writing this book (if you read the introduction above) is to teach C++ to students who have NO programming experience in any language. O'Sullivan in his previous review seems to think that C is a better programming language than C++ (I'm not saying C is inferior, I'm just saying that they are different languages and should be treated as such). O'Sullivan also has the perspective of someone who already knows a programming language, and therefore would not benefit from a beginner's book. O'Sullivan also clearly missed the point of C++ and OOP, as he says that programmers should learn how printf() and other low-level constructs work. But why? C++ and OOP totally make those constructs useless, and teaching these constructs to BEGINNERS will only muddle the topic further. The books O'Sullivan reccomends are all C books, and anyone interested in OOP or C++ should not bother with them. Perhaps when O'Sullivan graduates from high school, he will understand that there is a wealth of Object Orientation in C++ waiting for him in the real world. My advice to anyone thinking of purchasing this book: if you are new to programming, this is the book you want! It is informative, educational, clear, and not at all confusing. Is it a reference book? Not really, so once you know the language, you should perhaps purchase another book for use as reference. But for learning programming from the start, this is the book you want.

Rating:
Summary: His Editor Should Be Hanged
Review: The book " CS Tapestry" often highlights terminology which isn't defined and then uses these terms for explanations in the text. It should have a glossary of terms and definitions and its editor should be hanged. The book should be written for a beginner's point of view. It's marketed as an introduction to the whole field -but gives little attention to the wider tapestry.
I spent close to 100 dollars for this book and must invest extra money in supplemental books just to pass the course. He has written a book for beginner computer scientists that can only be understood by computer scientists. This takes no skill at all.

Rating:
Summary: His Editor Should Be Hanged
Review: The book " CS Tapestry" often highlights terminology which isn't defined and then uses these terms for explanations in the text. It should have a glossary of terms and definitions and its editor should be hanged. The book should be written for a beginner's point of view. It's marketed as an introduction to the whole field -but gives little attention to the wider tapestry.
I spent close to 100 dollars for this book and must invest extra money in supplemental books just to pass the course. He has written a book for beginner computer scientists that can only be understood by computer scientists. This takes no skill at all.

Rating:
Summary: This is the worst book ever
Review: This book is a textbook, not a reference book. Text books teach, reference books provide convenient lookup. As a teacher of large programming classes, I can appreciate the authors approach to teaching programming. Students with no background do MUCH better with a black box approach to functions. Use it first then learn how to make it yourself is a far better approach than getting students lost in all of the details no matter how important the details are. There's plenty of time later in the semester (and subsequent courses) to master the details. For most students, the CS1 course is NOT about becoming a programmer, it's about learning analytical problem solving skills. The book does an excellent job of addressing the pedegogical concerns of the CS1 course. One may of course have quibbles with the order that things are presented of course. I personally prefer to introduce functions before classes. But this is a religious issue more than anything else. There are many different ways to do things that all lead to a successful conclusion.

Rating:
Summary: Very helpful
Review: This book was the first one that I was able to understand of all the books I read. Its a college book so you know its good. The first few chapters made it possible for me to understand other books on C++, and to understand where the other books failed. I'm not finished it all yet, but If you have the money, get it. Or try the Library. I wish I had it 2 years ago when I gave up.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best, yet forgotten, book on OOP & C++, Period.
Review: What should I say about this book... Hmm, from my feeling, this is one of the best in "Introduction" to Object-Oriented Programming in C++ (from more than 20 C++ books I've read..). Why?

First, I really like the way the author explain things, it's very easy to understand, concise and clear. The programming style is also very good.

Second, this book teach C++ in the way C+ should be taught. For example, instead of using the array of characters or pointer to charecters to make string, this book use standard string class from the beginning. And instead of using array, it use vector container class.. and so on. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those STL crazed person. However, I have to admit that STL changed the way of programming the C++ dramatically. And at least, Bjarne Stroustrup, the creator of C++, said the same thing (the way C++ should be taught, something like that. You can refer to this homepage for more information about this).

And one thing that made this book different from the rest, the approach of introducing the "Class". Instead of creating the class first, then use your own class in your program, this book teach you how to "use" class to code. The reader will see how easier things (and more beautiful code) become when using classes, compare to not using them. Then, after using those classes for a while, you'll know how you "should" write your own.

This book, of course, also teach you how to implement the class. But the "idea" of what the class is, how important it is, and how should blah blah blah, is also very important.. And that sort of information seems to be missed from the other books, at least missed from where it should be mentioned. (Anyway, in real world programming... you'll likely to use the class libraries someone had implemented, and then expand them, more than write your own classes from scrath).

One downside... using his own classes in the example means.. most of the example are not ANSI compliant. Therefore, you can't just type them down and compile them without downloading those files (maybe it's in CD-ROM, I've checked the CD yet.. since I already download them from this book's website at Duke university). And, therefore, someone who is really "novice" might have no idea what this book is talking about when it start mentioning the strange header files which are not parts of Standard library.

And also, there're also some little problems with the examples. However, it's not the severe like those in Herbert Schildt's and Walter Savitch's books.

This book will, believe me, help you a lot in your programming career with C++ and Object-Oriented. And it's definitely one of the best in this genre.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best, yet forgotten, book on OOP & C++, Period.
Review: What should I say about this book... Hmm, from my feeling, this is one of the best in "Introduction" to Object-Oriented Programming in C++ (from more than 20 C++ books I've read..). Why?

First, I really like the way the author explain things, it's very easy to understand, concise and clear. The programming style is also very good.

Second, this book teach C++ in the way C+ should be taught. For example, instead of using the array of characters or pointer to charecters to make string, this book use standard string class from the beginning. And instead of using array, it use vector container class.. and so on. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those STL crazed person. However, I have to admit that STL changed the way of programming the C++ dramatically. And at least, Bjarne Stroustrup, the creator of C++, said the same thing (the way C++ should be taught, something like that. You can refer to this homepage for more information about this).

And one thing that made this book different from the rest, the approach of introducing the "Class". Instead of creating the class first, then use your own class in your program, this book teach you how to "use" class to code. The reader will see how easier things (and more beautiful code) become when using classes, compare to not using them. Then, after using those classes for a while, you'll know how you "should" write your own.

This book, of course, also teach you how to implement the class. But the "idea" of what the class is, how important it is, and how should blah blah blah, is also very important.. And that sort of information seems to be missed from the other books, at least missed from where it should be mentioned. (Anyway, in real world programming... you'll likely to use the class libraries someone had implemented, and then expand them, more than write your own classes from scrath).

One downside... using his own classes in the example means.. most of the example are not ANSI compliant. Therefore, you can't just type them down and compile them without downloading those files (maybe it's in CD-ROM, I've checked the CD yet.. since I already download them from this book's website at Duke university). And, therefore, someone who is really "novice" might have no idea what this book is talking about when it start mentioning the strange header files which are not parts of Standard library.

And also, there're also some little problems with the examples. However, it's not the severe like those in Herbert Schildt's and Walter Savitch's books.

This book will, believe me, help you a lot in your programming career with C++ and Object-Oriented. And it's definitely one of the best in this genre.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best, yet forgotten, book of OOP & C++ , Period.
Review: What should I say about this book... Hmm, from my feeling, this is one of the best in "Introduction" to Object-Oriented Programming in C++ (from more than 20 C++ books I've read..). Why?

First, I really like the way the author explain things, it's very easy to understand, concise and clear. The programming style is also very good.

Second, this book teach C++ in the way C+ should be taught. For example, instead of using the array of characters or pointer to charecters to make string, this book use standard string class from the beginning. And instead of using array, it use vector container class.. and so on. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those STL crazed person. However, I have to admit that STL changed the way of programming the C++ dramatically. And at least, Bjarne Stroustrup, the creator of C++, said the same thing (the way C++ should be taught, something like that. You can refer to this homepage for more information about this).

And one thing that made this book different from the rest, the approach of introducing the "Class".

Instead of creating the class first, then use your own class in your program, this book teach you how to "use" class to code. The reader will see how easier things (and more beautiful code) become when using classes, compare to not using them. Then, after using those classes for a while, you'll know how you "should" write your own.

This book, of course, also teach you how to implement the class. But the "idea" of what the class is, how important it is, and how should blah blah blah, is also very important.. And that sort of information seems to be missed from the other books, at least missed from where it should be mentioned. (Anyway, in real world programming... you'll likely to use the class libraries someone had implemented, and then expand them, more than write your own classes from scrath).

One downside... using his own classes in the example means.. most of the example are not ANSI compliant. Therefore, you can't just type them down and compile them without downloading those files (maybe it's in CD-ROM, I've checked the CD yet.. since I already download them from this book's website at Duke university). And, therefore, someone who is really "novice" might have no idea what this book is talking about when it start mentioning the strange header files which are not parts of Standard library.

And also, there're also some little problems with the examples. However, it's not the severe like those in Herbert Schildt's and Walter Savitch's books.

This book will, believe me, help you a lot in your programming career with C++ and Object-Oriented. And it's definitely one of the best in this genre.