Review of C++ Weekend Crash Course (Paperback)

Although the "C++ Weekend Crash Course" is a decent starting point for C++, it doesn't deliver as promised. Digesting the content of the book will take much more than the proposed 24 hours. Triple or quadruplethat if you've never programmed with C++ before and you'll have an accurateestimate as to how long it takes to complete this book.

Good points: 1 -includes DJGPP and RHIDE (a compiler and environment) so that you can workon coding right away. 2 - covers classes quite thoroughly, and devotesseveral chapters to debugging. I can say quite confidently that I can debugmy own code properly. 3 - 500 pages of info is bound to benefit you.

Badpoints: 1 - The code contains errors. Once you figure out how to workaround them (use "cin >> whatever" instead of "cin> whatever") you'll have a lot more success. It -is- frustratingfor the novice, however. 2 - There's no real reference in the book. Unlikesome titles, there's no decent list of functions, variable types, etc.You'll need to invest in something like that separately. 3 - Most sectionsare fairly chaotic. Although the author does have a basic pattern to hischapters consisting of "introduction of topic, practical coding,conclusion/summary", the practical coding section is a mishmash ofcoding and an assortment of unorganized points that the author couldn't putinto a chapter.

Overall, some readers may feel confused after having readthis book. A complete novice to C++ may still not know when to use apointer instead of a global variable, and there were sections in the bookthat were too advanced for the time they were presented (such as bitwiseoperations). If you're already a programmer fluent in another language,this book might work for you. If you need to review C++ before an exam,this is your book. For complete newbies, however, skip this one.

Product Description

• Includes an introduction to C++ as used in Microsoft's new .NET platform, including Managed Extensions, and the new Visual C++ .NET compiler.
• Updated for the new ISO C++ Standard.
• The valuable CD-ROM includes new Windows XP-compatible compilers, source code and examples, and assessment software to help readers guage their progress.
  
  

From the Publisher
BONUS CD-ROM INCLUDES:

GNU C++ compiler
All code and auxiliary files for the sample programs
Assessment software to help gauge your progress!--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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