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The ACCU passes on review copies of computer books to its members for them to review. The result is a large, high quality collection of book reviews by programmers, for programmers. Currently there are 1949 reviews in the database and more every month.
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Title:
C/C++ Programmer's Reference
Author:
Herbert Schildt
ISBN:
0 07 882367 6
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill
Pages:
344pp
Price:
£12-99
Reviewer:
Francis Glassborow
Subject:
reference; beginner's c++
Appeared in:
10-2
It may be churlish of me to criticise this book because the author has put in quite a bit of work trying to get himself more up-to- date. However the clue to the problem starts with the title. The reference to C/C++ made me suspicious. Even more so was the cover claim to address ANSI Standard C and Standard C++. Strictly speaking the first of those is more correctly described as ISO Standard C and there should be some comment on the version it covers (i.e. before or after amendment 1) The latter does not exist yet. Let me pass on that.

A survey of the table of contents is far more disturbing because well over half the book is dedicated to brief documentation of the Standard C Library (and you would be far better off with Plauger's 'The Standard C Library for that). Much of the rest is a cursory and incomplete coverage of the Standard C++ Library. Aspects of the C++ Library have been ignored, other things are confused (for example the author does not distinguish between basic containers and adaptors - it is not clear that he knows the difference.) If you are already familiar with C++ and simply want a light weight reference to jog your memory you might get some use from this book but I guess you would be continually irritated by not finding the thing you were looking for. If you were looking for something more substantial to support a relatively weak understanding of C/C++ then this is not it.

One positive thing about this book is that the UK cost is a bit nearer a fair currency conversion (the US price is $16.99).

Note that I read and reviewed this book before I started on the author's other book (Teach Yourself C++)