C++ for Dummies, Second Edition

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Summary: The worst technical book I have ever read.
Review: C++ for dummiest is most assuredly the worst book on C++ I have ever read.

First of all, it assumes you know C in order to teach C++.

Not only is that ridiculous to ask of your reader, but learning C in order to learn C++ is DETRIMENTAL to the learning of C++.

C is a modular language and C++ is an object oriented language, in simple terms, they have similar syntax, but are very different style wise.

Now, as I dove into this book with my rushed C knowledge (because I "needed" it) I was curious to learn the differences between C's modular programming and C++'s object oriented programming.

All I learned is that I can think of Nachos when I program. (The author attempts to explain object oriented programming with a very simple and overly general example about nachos. Very confusing.)

By the middle of the book, I had already gotten lost by things that had been "covered" in previous chapters, and looking back at it (now that I have learned much more C++ from other books) I find the authors use of the C malloc() call absolutely ridiculous, when C++ has it's own memory allocation operators.

I cannot think of any reason to by this book. Beginners will be confused, beginners who aren't confused will learn the language on an extremely poor foundation that will cause poor programming style.

Anyone above beginner doesn't need a primer anyways.

Try Liberty's C++ in 21 days or C++ Primer instead.

Rating:
Summary: C++ For Windows Only For Dummies
Review: Do NOT get this book if you are: 1) Interested in learning platform and IDE independent/ANSI/ISO C++ 2) Are developing using Linux/UNIX, BeOS, MacOS/MacOS X or just about any OS but Windows 3) Are interested in learning C++ with a lot more explanation and understanding- for that I'd recommend The Waite Group's C++ Primer Plus.

Rating:
Summary: Ignore the bad press
Review: Hey, I don't see any reason, or even excuse, for some of the negative talk this book has generated. Let me just say my experience was completely positive. I am a programmer, and I had been programming with C++ for awhile professionally, but I had never read much on the subject. What I wanted was a book to lay it on the line, and cover the subject quickly. Recently, when looking for a job, I used this book as a study aid, -and as a result, I was able to ace a technical interview, and receive a job offer from a major Chicago consulting firm! -I turned the offer down, though, -for an even better offer! Thanks in part to this book, I was able to make serious move up in my career. My gratitude to the author, and this was money well spent!

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Summary: Not for anyone
Review: I bought this book because i needed learn C++ very fast for a College work. I am not a computer geek, but i consider myself a computer fan. After red the half of the book i realized without C language knowledge is not much what i going to learn from the book. I got C++ in 21 days and result a lot easier to learn from it. Anyway, the C++ for dummies has a lot of good examples, and after know some C is very useful.

Rating:
Summary: Find another reference!
Review: I bought this book hoping it would be a readable introduction and reference for C++, but was sorely disappointed. If you're a beginner, the book does you the disservice of assuming you know C. If you're advanced, the book glosses over details needed for complex programs. And not to miss those in between, the book is a terrible reference. You have to search through the book chapter by chapter to find details, as there is no decent reference section.

To his credit, the author states in the introduction that the book is not intended to teach C. Instead, he recommends you start with his C For Dummies. However, C++ For Dummies is not even a complete guide to C++. If you want that, you'd have to add More C++ (For Bigger Dummies?) to your collection. That doesn't count programming in Windows or Visual C++ either, naturally. Those each have their own books.

So unless you're starting your own library, check it out instead and give it a read. Then all the keywords will sound familiar when you buy a real C++ reference.

Rating:
Summary: I can't believe all the negative reviews!
Review: I found this book to be extremely helpful, and so I don't understand all the antipathy on the part of some reviewers.

To be fair, if you're a totally inexperienced programmer (an "absolute dummy"), then this book probably won't be useful. Similarly, if you're an experienced C++ programmer, it won't be useful either. However, if you already have a working knowledge of C, then this book is a great way to jumpstart your C++ expertise.

This book quickly helped me get up to speed on C++ concepts, syntax and techniques. I found it to be exceptionally well-organized. Unlike many other books, it focuses on the most important concepts first before delving into the meatier subjects. It does leave you wanting more, but after all, it was meant as an introductory course -- and it does have a worthy successor in "More C++ For Dummies."

Rating:
Summary: Good book, but could be a little better...
Review: I found this book very helpful as an introduction to C++ from C. It talks about why C++ is better than C and stresses on object-orientation. While some of the examples get annoying after a while because of their repetition, most of the explanations are clear.

This book is good if you're moving from C to C++, but is not for beginning programmers. Although the first few chapters are a review of C, it doesn't go deep enough to master the C programming language.

Rating:
Summary: Read the prerequisites!
Review: I'm guessing this is something that most of the reviewers who were critical of this book, didn't do before purchasing it. Yes you need to know C for this book and that is clearly stated in the prerequisites. But any book that tries to teach you C++ without prior knowledge of C is only lying to you (It's called C++ not D as in it's an addition onto C). If you try to learn C++ first you will only end up with a VERY superficial understanding of the language, which is something I know from experience. Personally I hate reading, and I'm always looking for shortcuts, but trying to learn C++ before C isn't a shortcut and you'll have to retrace you steps back to the start as soon as you figure that out. One more point, I always find many of the people who say you should not or not have to learn C first are people who did exactly that when they were starting out and are now experienced programmers. A hill never seems as high after you have climbed it.

Now that I have dispelled some of the myths previously presented it's time for the facts about the book...

Getting back on track, if you have a good knowledge of C before reading this book, you will love it. This book is very fast and manages to teach you the basics and then many quite advanced features of the C++ language; such as operator overloading, without getting you confused.

The one bad thing about the book that others have mentioned is that there are very boring and pretty long examples at the end of the first few chapters and if you read them, you will find yourself re-learning things that you already know from previous chapters. Solution: After you have gone through the first example, you should only skim the others.

Summary - Learn C well (Yes, pointers too! -- the best pointer explanation on the net: http://www.howstuffworks.com/c9.htm), next get this book, then forever praise the book as it will expand your knowledge into Object-Orientated C++ in about a tenth of the time it took you to learn C. Try and learn C++ first and just like me (and many of my friends) you will waste your time, until the day you finally decide it isn't working and go back and start on C.

For those who need more convincing, read on...

Apart from the logical reasons for learning C first, there is also the fact that C is so much more fun to learn than C++. In C++ everything interesting is already done for you which makes it great for business where you want to build applications fast, but that takes out all the fun. Sort of like how making a pizza from scratch is more fun than pulling it out of the box and sticking it in the microwave. Home made pizza usually tastes a lot better too and it's the same with programming in C (and I'm not exaggerating).

Hope that helps you all find what you are looking for. =)

-- Gerry

Rating:
Summary: ATTN: All Dummies !!!
Review: This book is a simple introduction to C++. It is not for Windows programming. Dr. Davis makes this book very easy, fun to read, and understand. But note that the book, like most C++ books--even Bjarne's--is a book about operators and syntex, problem solving and understanding.

All the concepts in the book transfer to windows programming but some of the syntex does not.

Like cout << and cin >>. make sure that you are using a DOS compiler or know how to use your windows compiler properly eg. MS Visual C++. Author's don't write Windows code in C++ books because the code is way to long--unless the book is about Windows programming.

Randy

Rating:
Summary: Don't ever buy this book
Review: This book is rediculous....the entire book is full of errors! Nearly every page has an error in the given code examples, making your knowledge of C++ somewhat skewed. This is by no means a reliable source if you want to learn C++, TRUST ME, don't waste your money.