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The Best C/C++ Tips Ever by Anthony Porter Recommended

ISBN: 0-07-881820-6       Publisher: McGraw-Hill       Pages: 350pp       Price: £28-35

Categories:   reference     advanced c     advanced c++

Reviewed by Francis Glassborow in C Vu 6-1 (Nov 1993)

One method to try to pass on wisdom is to encapsulate it into a brief statement which can then be elaborated on. The purpose of the simple statement is to try to lodge the idea in our minds. For example, Tip 125:

"A base class should have a virtual destructor".

Unfortunately the author of this book does not manage to get all his tips into a readily remembered format. In addition he sometimes identifies a real problem but gives only one of several solutions, or elects an inferior one. For example, Tip 147 (When redefining the assignment operator, you must copy all the members) suggest solving the problem via a base class and derivation. I suggest that this is incorrect use of inheritance. What should be done is to put the data into a class of its own and handle it via a pointer.

Despite this quibble, I find this an excellent book packed with ideas and insights that will certainly improve the coding skills of many of you. Reading this book critically and replacing the authors ideas with solutions of your own would greatly improve the coding skills of all but the best.

This is a book that needs to be worked at if real benefit is to be gained, but it is worth the money if you have the will to invest the time.