[HorizonIII]

Hi im new to the forums and programming. I started reading C++ How to Program (second edition). I was wandering is this a good book to start out with and are there other book that could help me.I am going to be taking classes next semester but would like to get a head start cause I really want to learn and make a career out of this.

[Martyr2]

It is decent. Deitel books tend to be thick and full of great examples to show you the principles. They also tend to go from zero to intermediate level at a great pace. So you will be ok with that book I think.

There are of course a few other books that can help...

Sams Teach Yourself C++ in One Hour a Day

And when you are comfortable enough there is the book to end all books on the subject...

The C++ Programming Language: Special Edition

which of course is written by the creator of C++ himself and is very much a reference book that will surely prove useful.

Hope these help.

[Ryano121]

I can also vouch for

Sams Teach Yourself C++ in One Hour a Day

It was a really good resource when I began to learn C++

I tend to think books by Bjarne Stroustrup are a really hard read. They are perhaps the best books for the language in terms of content, but in my experience they just haven't clicked compared to other books. Although, saying that as Martyr2 said, they tend to be great reference books (just a quick read through when you need to read up on a particular topic rather than a thorough read from front to back)

Good luck

This post has been edited by Ryano121: 07 September 2011 - 01:08 PM

[Salem_c]

Personally, I would avoid books which contain a time-frame for learning.
http://norvig.com/21-days.html

In a short-time frame, you'll be able to tell the difference between a C++ program and a hole in the ground.
The road to success is long

I like this book list.
http://rudbek.com/books.html

[Ryano121]

I agree with Salem. If you do decide to get the book above, don't stick with the time frame. Don't think that you have to spend exactly one hour each and every day on learning - thats a horrible way to lean. The book has good content - use it in your own time frames. If you don't understand a topic, spend more time on it, have a couple of days break, create a personal project between topics testing what you have learnt. Most of all don't rush your learning. As Salem said it will take years, you don't want to be going over the basic stuff again when you get onto the advanced topics!

[HorizonIII]

Thanks for the options guys ,the 10000 hour rule is something I use when playing guitar lol but as for creating projects what should I be trying to do? I can already do simple if/else, while loops, should I just try to write pseudocode then convert it to c++? and from there when I learn more basic things what should I do to practice them. I'm the kinda person that really learns by doing over and over and making mistakes.If I could get some suggestion or exsamples problems like you would get in a class that would help me alot and thanks again.

[Ryano121]

In my experience I simply thought of a problem that could be solved by a computer and tried to code it. It's good that you like to learn by mistakes, it will come in very handy! for me most of my smallest projects in c++ were math based. For example mainly geometry and sorting algorithms. From then on I went onto drawing graphics but that's way along the line yet.

The most important thing is to do as much coding as you can. Even if it's the simplest of things, it will still help. Think of a problem you have, design a solution and start coding as much as possible!

Good luck and enjoy it!

[JackOfAllTrades]

Moved to C/C++ Programmers, where if you search the forum, this HAS been discussed before...REPEATEDLY.

[hulla]

Sams Teach Yourself C++ is indeed a very good book. I'm currently reading it and find it very beneficial alongside C++ for Dummies.

[superSonic.code]

Well If All You Want Is Just To Get A Head Start, Just Try To Pick Up A Copy Of " C++ For Dummies" Or Any Other Books Of That Nature. Although These " For Dummies " or " Complete Idiot's Guide " Books Maybe Short -- They Will Be Easy To Understand For Beginners. The Reason I Recommend These Particular Books To You, Is Because You Are Taking A Programming Course Next Semester Anyway And That Class Should Carry You The Rest Of The Way.

[jpass]

hulla, on 08 September 2011 - 03:23 AM, said:

Sams Teach Yourself C++ is indeed a very good book. I'm currently reading it and find it very beneficial alongside C++ for Dummies.

I've been reading these same two books during my recent absence. I've found them to be very helpful.

[NickDMax]

Those books may be a good "introduction" for "beginners" but in all honesty they are terrible books witch tend to promote bad habits and non-standard practices.

However the truth is there really are not many really good C++ books out there and even fewer good books for beginners.

Just don't think that you are really "learning C++". It is a very deep language and takes years to really comprehend and even longer to master.

[hulla]

superSonic.code, on 09 September 2011 - 07:24 AM, said:

Although These " For Dummies " or " Complete Idiot's Guide " Books Maybe Short

My C++ for Dummies is 837 pages long . . .
Short much?

Awesome avatar by the way . . . Quite familiar too.

[Bench]

Please, please ignore any C++ book which contains the following in its title.

"for dummies"
"in X days/hours

Such books are notoriously bad for beginners learning C++ (despite what so called "satisfied learners" might otherwise say on here and on book sites like Amazon). What many of the people who recommend these books generally do not realise is that the books teach you all of the wrong things, and don't actually teach you C++ the right way - instead they'll get you effectively learning the C language first - using all kinds of outdated, unsafe and bad techniques, whilst ignoring many of the fundamental good/safe/easy basic tools which will actually help you learn and use C++ properly.



If you want books which actually teach C++ as a language, then please DO look at the book list which Salem_c posted; books like Accelerated C++, Programming: Principles & Practice in C++ and Lippman's C++ Primer 4th ed are all books which are written by people who not only understand the language, but understand how to learn it and teach it, as well as understanding all of the frustrations which a lot of people run into when learning the C language.

This is as opposed to Sams and Dummies authors, who are all in the school of "learn the low-level C features with all the frustrating and difficult bits first, then un-learn all of that afterwards because it's actually bad, and learn the easy useful stuff right at the end if you haven't given up already".


Sorry to be so negative about Sams/Dummies books. But those books are partly why so many 'new' C++ programmers end up reaching the point where they "think" they know how to use the language, but unfortuately find themselves habitually attached to all of the wrong ways of programming, and face a huge struggle to un-learn it all and re-learn the right things instead.

This post has been edited by Bench: 09 September 2011 - 09:12 AM

[jpass]

Bench - Thanks for this information.

This post has been edited by jpass: 09 September 2011 - 11:11 AM