The C++ Programming Language: Special Edition (3rd Edition)

Well-written, organized, comprehensive, authoritative--this book is ideal if you want to become a C++ guru regardless of whether you are a beginner, an intermediate, an advanced, or an expert C++ user. Stroustrup created the language and continues to be deeply interested in its evolution. He knows how to best use it and is not shy in telling you. No hand holding is offered by Stroustrup. If you want a dummies book, you can stop reading this review and look for something else.

Stroustrup gives succinct code fragments to drive home his point, assumes you understand it, and discusses another topic. Cross-references are numerous, and the index is good. He also assumes you already know the basic data structures. As you can probably tell by now, _The C++ Programming Language_ is more useful as a reference than as a tutorial. Even if you think that you are that one person in a hundred that can use this book as a tutorial, there is a better tutorial.

The problem with _The C++ Programming Language_ is that it will tell you almost everything you ever wanted to know about C++ and many things that you do not want to know about C++. Novices will want to learn the most valuable subset of the language to begin writing nontrivial programs immediately. This book, though, does not emphasize this subset. It tries, and succeeds brilliantly, to give, in one book, as much information as possible. Consequently, the most important parts of the language that every C++ programmer should know to be productive are hidden inside this information-packed book.

Some readers, some of them even professional programmers, have complained that Stroustrup is a bad writer, is disorganized, is an incompetent teacher, is an egoist, etc. Let me assure you, if you still have any doubts, that none of these faults are found in this book: C++ is a general-purpose, widely-used, flexible, powerful language that will probably take most people years to master; and it is this that prevents many users from learning C++ or learning C++ to a high level of proficiency. Do you expect C++ to be as easy to learn as, say, Visual Basic, Scheme, or Pascal? Or are you willing to put in the years of hard work necessary to become a C++ guru?

If you have programmed before, not necessarily in C++ or C, and know the basic data structures, I strongly recommend you buy, instead of _The C++ Programming Language_, _Accelerated C++_ by Andrew Koenig and Barbara E. Moo for use as a tutorial. If you already have the third or special edition of _The C++ Programming Language_ and want to sell it, trade it, or set it on fire, please do not. Use it as a reference. You will need it as a reference to supplement your tutorial.

When participants in the three C++ Usenet discussion forums alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.c++.moderated ask for book recommendations or comment on the best references and tutorials, these books are inevitably mentioned more often than any other references and tutorials. These books also received the Association of C & C++ Users' highest recommendation. A while back, Pearson PTR, Slashdot.org, Netscape's DevEdge Online, and _Doctor Dobb's Journal_ asked readers to nominate the best computer books of the twentieth century. _The C++ Programming Language_ made the top five. And its value endures. _The C++ Programming Language_ and _Accelerated C++_ are difficult and demand effort, patience, and persistence. The more C++ you know, the more valuable _The C++ Programming Language_ becomes. Use only if you want to be the best C++ programmer that you can be. Avoid this book at your peril.

You are a C++ programmer - you own this book. If you don't, buy it, buy it right now. This is the reference work on C++, written by the original creator of the language himself: Bjarne Stroustrup. Although this isn't a book for beginners the text is very readable and concise. I particularly liked the code examples he gives, because they are not of your usual 'hello world' text book quality, but rather examples taken from the real world. He also doesn't commit the crime of many authors of presenting code with remarks like this: "this is not the way you should do it, you'll learn the correct way later". Bjarne isn't the die-hard, everything must be object oriented type of guy (that is a good thing!), thus presenting the more traditional style of procedural programming first. While still taking advantage of the OO facilities of C++, like stream IO for example, he doesn't overwhelm you with the responsibility of designing proper classes from page one. In the more philosophical chapters about design and 'the importance of the individual' the author demonstrates a very rational, non-preaching point of view backed up with lots of real world experience.
No compromises, this book is a must have.

I've searched for these two type of print, and as long as I could understand the hard cover version only differs by being sold with a "hard cover". However, in my country the soft cover version has more pages, than the hard cover print.
Anybody has some experience with this? Thanks!

Who better to write about, illustrate, and explain the ANSI/ISO C++ programming language than its' inventor? Though not intended as a tutorial, Stroustrup's C++ proves itself as a valuable reference to all C++ programmers, novices and experts alike. His book serves well as the defacto standard on the subject, and all programmers should have it as a valuable part of their library. An Excellent reference and a job well done!

This Review is on the 3rd Edition of the book. First let me mention that if you do not like learning by referring back and forth on various topics, then stick with elementary C++ programming books. For a beginner, I would not suggest this book. However, it is a very essential book to refer and "study" deep on various the topics that are representative of C++'s strengths. Referring C++ Templates and C++ Standard Library, both by Josuttis along with Dr.Stroustrup's book is the best way to quickly get to speed on the language.

So the question is, why four stars? There is always room for improvement.

/Sarcasm/-If you do not like a book that demands some serious level of dedication, then don't worry about Dr.Stroustrup's book. You may be better off "completely" learning C++ with the book "The (In)Complete Reference C++" by Herb Schildt.-/Sarcasm/