Brian Overland - C++ Without Fear: A Beginners Guide That Makes You Feel Smart, 2nd Edition

A Beginners Guide That Makes You Feel Smart

Second Edition

Brian Overland

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Overland, Brian R.
C++ without fear : a beginner's guide that makes you feel smart /
Brian Overland.2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-13-267326-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. C++ (Computer program language) I. Title.
QA76.73.C153O838 2011
005.13'3dc22
2011004218

Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

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ISBN-13: 978-0-13-267326-6
ISBN-10: 0-13-267326-6

Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at Edwards Brothers in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
First printing, April 2011

For Colin

Many years ago, when I had to learn C overnight to make a living as a programmer (this was before C++), I would have given half my salary to find a mentor, a person would say, Here are the potholes in the road...errors that you are sure to make in learning C. And heres how to steer around them. Instead, I had to sweat and groan through every error a person could make.

Im not just talking about programmers who can write or writers who can program. Each of those is rare enough. Much rarer still is the person who is programmer, writer, and teacher someone who will steer you around the elementary gotchas and enthusiastically communicate the whys of the language, including why this stuff is not just useful but, in its own way, kind of cool.

Its hard to find such a person. But way back then, I swore this is the person Id become.

Later, at Microsoft, I started in tech support and testing and worked my way into management. But my most important job (I felt) was explaining new technology. I was sometimes the second or third person in the world to see a new feature of a programming language, and my job was to turn a cryptic spec into readable prose for the rest of the universe to understand. I took the goal of make this simple as not just a job but a mission.

Whats different about this book is that Im an advocate for you, the reader. Im on your side, not that of some committee. Im aware of all the ways you are supposed to program and why they are supposed to be better (and I do discuss those issues), but Im mostly concerned about telling you what works .

This book assumes you know nothing at all about programmingthat you basically know how to turn on a computer and use a mouse. For those of you more knowledgeable, youll want to breeze through the first few chapters.

The creators of C and C++Dennis Ritchie and Bjarne Stroustrup, respectivelyare geniuses, and Im in awe of what they accomplished. But although C and C++ are great languages, there are some features that beginners (and even relatively advanced programmers) never find uses for, at least not for the first few years. Im not afraid to tell you that information up front: what language features you can and should ignore. At the same time, Im also eager to tell you about the elegant features of C++ that can save you time and energy.

This is a book about practical examples. Its also a book about having fun! The great majority of examples in this book either are useful and practical orby using puzzles and gamesare intrinsically entertaining.

So, have no fear! I wont bludgeon you to death with overly used (and highly abused ) terms like data abstraction , which professors love but which forever remain fuzzy to the rest of us. At the same time, there are some terms object orientation and that you will want to know, and I provide concrete, practical contexts for understanding and using them.

The first edition has sold increasingly well over the years. I believe thats a testament to the variety of learning paths it supplied: complete examples, exercises, and generous use of conceptual art. The second edition builds on these strengths in many ways:

Coverage of new features in C++0x: This is the new specification for C++ that will be standard by the time you have this book in your hands. Compiler vendors either have brought their versions of C++ up to this standard or are in the process of doing so. This book covers well over a dozen new features from this specification in depth.

Examples galore, featuring puzzles and games: By the end of , youll learn how to enter a program, barely a page long, that not only is a complete game but even has an optimal strategy for the computer. Just see whether you can beat it! But this is only the beginning. This edition features puzzles and games, much more so than the first edition.

Generous use of conceptual art: The use of clarifying illustrations to address abstract points was one of the biggest strengths of the first edition. This edition has substantially more of these.

Even more exercises: These encourage the reader to learn in the best way...by taking apart an example that works, analyzing it, and figuring out how to modify it to make it do your own thing.

No-nonsense syntax diagrams : Programming and playing games is fun, but sometimes you need straightforward information. The syntax diagrams in this book, accompanied by loads of examples, clarify exactly how the language works, statement by statement and keyword by keyword.

Introduction to Standard Template Library (STL): Although I lacked the space to do a complete STL manual, this edition (unlike the first) introduces you to the wonders of this exciting feature of C++, showing how it can save you time and energy and enable you to write powerful applications in a remarkably small space.