C++ Programming Today (With 2 CD-ROMs)

Rating:
Summary: Perfect for new and intermediate C++ programmers!!
Review: Few titles have ever gotten me really excited, but I have to tell you, "C++ Programming Today" has. The text is organized with the new and intermediate C++ programmer in mind. Each chapter leads the reader into new and more challenging concepts that are built upon topics presented in previous chapters. Throughout the book the author uses lots of color and highlighting which to me, is a lot easier on the eyes and makes the book a more enjoyable read. Another useful feature is the use of 4 Stoplight icons to tell the reader when a C++ programming method is either a "Good Programming Practice" (Green Stoplight), "Be Cautious" (Yellow), "Stop! Do Not Do This" (Red) or a Stoplight with yellow flags to represent a "Troubleshooting Tip". The appendices (over 115 pages) contain lots of great reference information such as C++ keywords, operators, string class, file IO, hex notation and ASCII character codes. I was REALLY happy to find out that this book also came with two CD's - the first one contains the full working code of all the examples Johnston uses throughout her book. The second CD is a full-blown copy of Microsoft's Visual C++ 6 (Intro edition). The only thing I didn't like about the book was that the perforated quick reference card was printed on the same paper as the rest of the book, in my opinion it's not strong enough for a reference card you'll be referring to all the time. (I took mine to Kinko's and had it laminated) All in all I would still highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Well wriiten, accessible and fun.
Review: Few titles have ever gotten me really excited, but I have to tell you, "C++ Programming Today" has. The text is organized with the new and intermediate C++ programmer in mind. Each chapter leads the reader into new and more challenging concepts that are built upon topics presented in previous chapters. Throughout the book the author uses lots of color and highlighting which to me, is a lot easier on the eyes and makes the book a more enjoyable read. Another useful feature is the use of 4 Stoplight icons to tell the reader when a C++ programming method is either a "Good Programming Practice" (Green Stoplight), "Be Cautious" (Yellow), "Stop! Do Not Do This" (Red) or a Stoplight with yellow flags to represent a "Troubleshooting Tip". The appendices (over 115 pages) contain lots of great reference information such as C++ keywords, operators, string class, file IO, hex notation and ASCII character codes. I was REALLY happy to find out that this book also came with two CD's - the first one contains the full working code of all the examples Johnston uses throughout her book. The second CD is a full-blown copy of Microsoft's Visual C++ 6 (Intro edition). The only thing I didn't like about the book was that the perforated quick reference card was printed on the same paper as the rest of the book, in my opinion it's not strong enough for a reference card you'll be referring to all the time. (I took mine to Kinko's and had it laminated) All in all I would still highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Well wriiten, accessible and fun.
Review: Johnston's book should replace Deitel & Deitel. It covers the essentials of C++ and object-oriented programming more thoroughly, and it has realistic debugging/troubleshooting discussions. The appendices give the reader a refreshingly complete one-stop reference for all the little details that I tend to forget.

The book has lots and lots of sample code with careful discussion of what's being done and why. The troubleshooting and debugging advice alone is worth the price of the book.

Rating:
Summary: A book that is neither worth the money, nor the time
Review: Unfortunately I was requried to buy this book for a class. An absolute waste of money. Nothing is covered in any sort of detail at all, while the pages are dedicated to output from compilers. For an example, the information covering file Input and Output consists of a single paragraph. And it's wrong. C++ Primer Plus is a much better alternative. It's cheaper, bigger, more correct, and is actually a useful book. I want my money back Barbara! (And I suspect that you're the one who wrote the first review and that you also paid someone to write the second.)