(Jan 28, 2014 04:23 PM)popov Wrote:  learn c++ in 21 days

(Jan 29, 2014 02:18 PM)CallMeMrBiG Wrote:  I am interested to see your further review as this is the book recommended by ms virtual academy in their jump start videos.

I have also heard very good things about this book but the C++ Primier will most likely give a much fuller understanding of C++

(Jan 29, 2014 02:29 PM)popov Wrote:  yeah if you dont have previous programming experience then i would recommend a in depth book

(Jan 29, 2014 03:37 PM)wethegreenpeople Wrote:  C++ primer plus is not a highly regarded book. http://accu.org/index.php?module=bookreviews&func=search&rid=1744

That's for the 4th edition but I've read equally bad reviews about the latest.

(Jan 29, 2014 02:18 PM)CallMeMrBiG Wrote:  I am interested to see your further review as this is the book recommended by ms virtual academy in their jump start videos.

I have also heard very good things about this book but the C++ Primier will most likely give a much fuller understanding of C++

(Jan 30, 2014 11:55 AM)wethegreenpeople Wrote:  http://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/z1v31/what_is_wrong_with_c_primer_plus/
http://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/188k8v/why_is_c_primer_plus_6th_edition_a_bad_book/
http://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/search?q=C%2B%2B+primer+plus&restrict_sr=on

Tldr; Bad practices, and crappy teaching style. It gets okay reviews on amazon and the like because it's being reviewed by people that are new to programming and don't know better,

I'm not saying that it won't teach you anything, but it'll teach you wrong. And if you're going to learn wrong you might as well not learn at all.

Quote:I found the 6th edition at B&N a few days ago and flipped to chapter 4, "Compound Types." Ick. Here's what I remember.

Prata starts with pointers and C strings. Then there's a very short section on string, and Prata says using string is easier than char *. Next come arrays. Then there's a very short section on vector, but all he does with it there is get and set with []. As expected, he also says vectors are easier to use than arrays. Then he teaches structs, and IIRC there's a short section on C++11 syntax for initializing a struct. He ends the chapter with unions!

In sum, he teaches "hard" stuff in a lot of detail before teaching "easy" stuff. So yeah, he teaches C before C++, but the instruction is interleaved. By teaching C first and in greater detail, he gives the impression that C idioms are the usual way to go. By interleaving C and C++ instruction, he gives the impression that you can happily interleave C and C++ idioms in your code. By merely telling you that the C++ stuff is just "easier," he doesn't guide you in when to prefer what.

Quote:Also, I'm not saying this book is better than others. I'm saying this works for me. I'm only trying to help people who's clueless about what they should get.

(Jan 30, 2014 01:01 PM)wethegreenpeople Wrote:  Did you read through the links that I sent you?

That is in reference to the 6th edition. It's literally in the first sentence.

If it works for you, great, fine, I'm happy. But don't try and sell the book like it's some fantastic book because it's not, it teaches bad habits. This isn't just according to reddit. This is also according to stackoverflow, and cpp forums all over the place full of people that already know C++ and have read through this book.

I'd much rather listen to people that already know C++ telling me that a book is bad, than people who don't know C++ telling me a book is fantastic. But that's just my personal opinion.

(Jan 30, 2014 04:40 PM)KingVersace Wrote:  Thanks for this thread really useful :) Appreciate it.