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Master C++ Programming with Open-Source Books

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Re: Master C++ Programming with Open-Source Books

#11

Post by Chris2048 »

adrianN wrote: post #8
Chris2048 wrote: post #6

I'd sooner master rust, which seems to have a lot of buzz around it. the world has needed a low-level prog-lang that's less painful than C/C++ for a while, rust may have enough merit to displace a lot of C/C++ dev - I just hope it gets well standardised, in such a way that C++ isn't.

C++ has an ISO standard. It doesn't get much more standardised.

It has a few standards, which is the problem.

Furthermore, I'm not just talking about the existence of a standard, but the complexity of the standard (C++is v. big), and also how much that standard restricts, and hence results in conformal, predictable code.

Re: Master C++ Programming with Open-Source Books

#12

Post by easytiger »

branchless wrote: post #9
_hao wrote: post #4

I've just skimmed through "How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: C++" and I've got to say it seems like the best intro to programming and C++ I've ever seen. Definitely better than Bjarne's "Programming Principles in C++" and others.

Bjarns books are dire.

Disagree completely on the latest ed

Re: Master C++ Programming with Open-Source Books

#14

Post by pdpi »

Chris2048 wrote: post #11
adrianN wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

C++ has an ISO standard. It doesn't get much more standardised.

It has a few standards, which is the problem. Furthermore, I'm not just talking about the existence of a standard, but the complexity of the standard (C++is v. big), and also how much that standard restricts, and hence results in conformal, predictable code.

> It has a few standards, which is the problem.

You mean C++03, C++11, C++14, C++17? Or something else?

If you mean those, I fail to see the problem. The language isn't dead, so it's not static, and it evolves over time. Publishing a new standard every few years is the only way to keep all compilers aligned, rather than each going off in its own "with extra features!" direction.

Re: Master C++ Programming with Open-Source Books

#15

Post by satysin »

branchless wrote: post #9
_hao wrote: post #4

I've just skimmed through "How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: C++" and I've got to say it seems like the best intro to programming and C++ I've ever seen. Definitely better than Bjarne's "Programming Principles in C++" and others.

Bjarns books are dire.

Programming Principles and Practice using C++ 2nd Edition (god what a horrible title to type) is a strange book. It has a lot of great info in it but it is a very hard read. The first 4 or 5 chapters are ok albeit too wordy. But then after that they seem to rocket up in difficultly. Not impossible but damn hard for a beginner.

Re: Master C++ Programming with Open-Source Books

#16

Post by satysin »

_hao wrote: post #4

I've just skimmed through "How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: C++" and I've got to say it seems like the best intro to programming and C++ I've ever seen. Definitely better than Bjarne's "Programming Principles in C++" and others.

Yes Allen B. Downey is an excellent technical writer. His books are very good.

Re: Master C++ Programming with Open-Source Books

#17

Post by ShroudedNight »

pvitz wrote: post #2

The link to the "Open Data Structures (in C++)" book seems to be wrong. The book can be found at http://opendatastructures.org/ods-cpp/

Further to the parent, though it moves away from C++, Pat also teaches an advanced data structures course for which the notes and assignments are available:

http://cglab.ca/~morin/teaching/5408/ https://github.com/patmorin/tds

Re: Master C++ Programming with Open-Source Books

#18

Post by asitdhal »

The best place to master c++ is StackOverflow. Many people share knowledge accumulated from experience and they explain much better than Herb Sutter or any gray beard people in C++ community.

Another important thing, no matter how many books you read, you can't be a master without actually solving a lot of problems.

Re: Master C++ Programming with Open-Source Books

#19

Post by Someone1234 »

Chris2048 wrote: post #6

I'd sooner master rust, which seems to have a lot of buzz around it. the world has needed a low-level prog-lang that's less painful than C/C++ for a while, rust may have enough merit to displace a lot of C/C++ dev - I just hope it gets well standardised, in such a way that C++ isn't.

Have to agree.

Both Rust and Go (big in China) are worth looking at. Unless you're doing games programming C++ is neither C/ASM (which is popular for hardware) nor Java/C# (popular for business software) or PHP/RoR/Java (popular for web back ends).

Plus when you learn C++ you don't have to learn one language, it is more like learning four or five as they completely re-invented the language every time a standard ships. This might sound good, except a lot of these constructs are a pain in the butt to intermingle.

Re: Master C++ Programming with Open-Source Books

#20

Post by ShroudedNight »

Chris2048 wrote: post #11
adrianN wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

C++ has an ISO standard. It doesn't get much more standardised.

It has a few standards, which is the problem. Furthermore, I'm not just talking about the existence of a standard, but the complexity of the standard (C++is v. big), and also how much that standard restricts, and hence results in conformal, predictable code.

From the point of view of the ISO, my understanding is that they consider it to only have a single standard, with newer versions completely subsuming the existing one. I would actually argue that if C++ has a standards problem, it's that major revisions (1998, 2011, 2017, etc) are not treated as being distinct standards.
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