Ready to Begin...

[Boldgamer]

Hello everyone. I am interested in learning C++ and am looking for a good book to start out with. I read the topic in the sticky in this forum and have narrowed my choice of beginner books down to either

A) C++ How to Program by Harvey M. Deitel

or

B) C++ Primer Plus by Stephen Prata

I was wondering if many of you have had any experience with these two books and if there are any pluses when choosing the book by Deitel over Prata’s book (considering that the first book cost twice as much). I intend to eventually do Windows programming and I am also considering going to school and majoring in computer science next year. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Ancient Dragon]

please read this thread. which provides a wealth of information for beginners.

[SpS]

Hello everyone. I am interested in learning C++ and am looking for a good book to start out with. I read the topic in the sticky in this forum and have narrowed my choice of beginner books down to either

A) C++ How to Program by Harvey M. Deitel

I have almost read this book completely. It's a very good book for beginners. Without second thought buy it.

[Bench]

I've never read Dietel & Dietel, but judging from the ACCU review, that book would be a poor choice, and you'd end up learning out-of-date C++ (That's a very bad thing!)
http://accu.org/index.php/book_reviews?url=view.xqy?review=cp003204&term=beginner\'s+c%2b%2b

I'd suggest you have a look at the ACCU site before shelling out any money whatsoever - the best thing you can do is find a book which isn't going to mislead you!
http://accu.org/index.php/book_reviews?url=search.xqy?field=subject&term=beginner's+c%2b%2b

[SpS]

I've never read Dietel & Dietel, but judging from the ACCU review, that book would be a poor choice, and you'd end up learning out-of-date C++ (That's a very bad thing!)
http://accu.org/index.php/book_reviews?url=view.xqy?review=cp003204&term=beginner\'s+c%2b%2b

The review which you are showing is for 3rd edition. Now 5th edition is available in market which has a publishing date of January 05, 2005. It does follows the standard.

[~s.o.s~]

But having experienced and seen the contents of these Dietel books, personally I feel that they are bad. All the spoon feeding would get you nowhere.

Better follow Mr. Bench's advice and go with books which have higher rating and good reviews, which I think the Dietel books don't have. Good books like Accelerated C++ would be tough to start with, but are really worth their price considering the depth which they cover.

BTW, in case you don't know, there is a really good book, [search]Thinking in C++[/search] which is for free download (yes free as in beer). You can try out that book, get a hang of C++ and then decide for yourself which book really suits you.

[Boldgamer]

I have heard good things about about Accelerated C++. I am concerned about the size of the book though. It is only 336 pages long while both of the others are around 1200 pages long. I know that you cannot judge a book by it's size but I am a little worried that Accelerated C++ will not go as far in depth as the other two.

I don't know...this seems to be a harder decision than I had expected. I may just go with my first choice (C++ Primer Plus) and hope for the best.

p.s. I have heard of Thinking in C++. I am an odd learner though. I absolutly hate going back and forth between windows when trying to learn a new topic. For some reason I am less likely to "stick to it" if I have to learn that way. I prefer to learn from a book that I can highlight and make notes on the side in.

[Ravalon]

I know that you cannot judge a book by it's size but I am a little worried that Accelerated C++ will not go as far in depth as the other two.

That's because with Accelerated C++ you get all the meat and none of the empty calories. :) It basically covers 90% of the C++ that you're gonna use day to day. I don't know about the Dietel book--it's too expensive--but C++ Primer Plus doesn't do that.

Whatever you get, be sure to really work it. The magic happens when you practice constantly, occasionally practice with a little practice sprinkled in. ;)

[Bench]

That's because with Accelerated C++ you get all the meat and none of the empty calories.

Indeed, that's one way to put it! AC++ is far more concise than most other C++ books out there, taking 337 pages to explain what many books take 1000 pages by waffling on. Also uses a rather different approach to teaching than other books I've seen too (IMHO, and in the authors' opinions, their approach of teaching the STL before touching on arrays & pointers is the right one)

[may4life]

I've read SAMS teach yourself C++ in 21 days and Herbert Schildt's C++ from the ground up. I honestly recommend the first one though as it's code is much clearer and easier to understand. The second book though goes more into the containers such as lists and vectors and as its name starts from the ground up with easy to understand examples in matters that the first doesnt really extend on