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Book Review
The C++ Programming Language (Second Edition) by B. Stroustrup
Recommended
ISBN: 0-201-53992-6       Publisher: Addison-Wesley       Pages: 667pp       Price: £23-95.
Categories:   beginner's c++    
Reviewed by Francis Glassborow in C Vu 4-3 (Mar 1992)
Some of you know that I have a rooted objection to letting novices near K&R (either edition) and believe that buying it is a good way to throw money away. I have a similar attitude towards Bjarne Stroustrup's books, but not identical. I have managed without ever owning a copy of K&R and expect to continue to do so. Not so with this book. If you are already a reasonably fluent programmer you will find The C++ Programming Language helpful and the tutorial element is much stronger in this edition than in the original.

It covers the current state of play in the development of C++. There is still some argument on how exception handling will be implemented and which keywords will be used but at least we now have something to argue about. 'The Annotated C++ Reference Manual' which he co-authored with Margaret Ellis explains what and why, this book aims at showing you how. Both contain the current version of the reference manual (AT&T 2.1) together with exception handling and templates this book just puts it in an appendix at the end.

ANCRM is more useful if you are trying to understand C++ while CPL is better if you want to use the language. If you believe that you have some talent at programming then one or both books belong on your shelf. If money is tight then choose CPL rather than ANCRM.

Other Authors with the same surname

Stroustrup
Annotated C++ Reference Manual, The by Margaret Ellis & Bjarne Stroustrup [Recommended]  (Reviewed Mar 1991)
C++ Programming Language 3rd ed, The by B Stroustrup [Highly Recommended]  (Reviewed Jan 1998)
C++ Programming Language Special Edition, The by Bjarne Stroustrup [Highly Recommended]  (Reviewed May 2000)
Design and Evolution of C++, The by Bjarne Stroustrup [Recommended]  (Reviewed May 1994)

Last Update - 13 May 2001.

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