Thinking in C++. Volume 1: Introduction to Standard C++: Introduction to Standard C++ Vol 1 [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Fully revised and beefed up with plenty of new material on today's Standard C++, the new edition of Bruce Eckel's Thinking in C++: Volume 1 presents an excellent tutorial to mastering this rich (and sometimes daunting) programming language. Filled with expert advice and written in a patient, knowledgeable style, this book makes an excellent choice for anyone who wants to learn C++.

It is the author's effective presentation and especially clear writing style, along with dozens of effective code examples, which help make this book a standout. The text first sets the stage for using C++ with a tour of what object-oriented programming is all about, as well as the software design life cycle. The author then delves into every aspect of C++, from basic keywords and programming principles to more advanced topics, like function and operator overloading, virtual inheritance, exception handling, namespaces and templates. C++ is a complex language, and the author covers a lot of ground using today's Standard C++, but without getting bogged down in excessive detail.

The emphasis here is on practical programming and so there is nuts-and-bolts advice on using header files, pre-processor directives and namespaces to organise code effectively. Each chapter ends with exercises (usually about two dozen), and the entire text of the book is available on the accompanying CD-ROM. (So is the second volume, which tours Standard C++ classes and other advanced topics.)

Whether you have read the first edition of this book or not, there is much to mine from Thinking in C++. This new version continues to set a high standard as an approachable and thorough tutorial for learning today's C++. --Richard Dragan, amazon.com

Topics covered: Introduction to objects, inheritance, composition, polymorphism, exception handling, analysis and design fundamentals, advantages of C++, transitioning from C, compiling and building programs, writing C++ functions, flow control, C++ operators, data types, casting, debugging tips, pointers to functions, designing re-usable C++ classes, conditional compilation and header files, access specifiers, constructors and destructors, function overloading and default arguments, using const and static effectively, inlining, namespaces, references, copy constructors, operator overloading, using new and delete for dynamic objects, virtual functions, abstract classes, introduction to templates, and iterators.

Fully revised and beefed up with plenty of new material on today's Standard C++, the new edition of Bruce Eckel's Thinking in C++: Volume I is an excellent tutorial to mastering this rich (and sometimes daunting) programming language, filled with expert advice and written in a patient, knowledgeable style.

The effective presentation, along with dozens of helpful code examples, make this book a standout. The text first sets the stage for using C++ with a tour of what object-oriented programming is all about, as well as the software design life cycle. The author then delves into every aspect of C++, from basic keywords and programming principles to more advanced topics, like function and operator overloading, virtual inheritance, exception handling, namespaces, and templates. C++ is a complex language, and the author covers a lot of ground using today's Standard C++, but without getting bogged down in excessive detail.

The emphasis here is on practical programming, so there's basic advice on using header files, preprocessor directives, and namespaces to organize code effectively. Each chapter ends with exercises (usually about two dozen), and the entire text of the book is available on the accompanying CD-ROM. (So is the second volume, which tours Standard C++ classes and other advanced topics.)

Whether you have read the first edition of this book or not, there is much to mine from Thinking in C++. This new version continues to set a high standard as an approachable and thorough tutorial. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Introduction to objects, inheritance, composition, polymorphism, exception handling, analysis and design fundamentals, advantages of C++, transitioning from C, compiling and building programs, writing C++ functions, flow control, C++ operators, data types, casting, debugging tips, pointers to functions, designing reusable C++ classes, conditional compilation and header files, access specifiers, constructors and destructors, function overloading and default arguments, using const and static effectively, inlining, namespaces, references, copy constructors, operator overloading, using new and delete for dynamic objects, virtual functions, abstract classes, introduction to templates, and iterators.

"This book is a tremendous achievement. You owe it to yourself to have a copy on your shelf. The chapter on iostreams is the most comprehensive and understandable treatment of that subject I've seen to date." -- Al Stevens Contributing Editor, Doctor Dobbs Journal "Eckel's book is the only one to so clearly explain how to rethink program construction for object orientation. That the book is also an excellent tutorial on the ins and outs of C++ is an added bonus." -- Andrew Binstock, Editor, Unix Review "Bruce continues to amaze me with his insight into C++, and Thinking in C++ is his best collection of ideas yet. If you want clear answers to difficult questions about C++, buy this outstanding book." -- Gary Entsminger Author, The Tao of Objects "Thinking in C++ patiently and methodically explores the issues of when and how to use inlines, references, operator overloading, inheritance and dynamic objects, as well as advanced topics such as the proper use of templates, exceptions and multiple inheritance. The entire effort is woven in a fabric that includes Eckel's own philosophy of object and program design. A must for every C++ developer's bookshelf, Thinking in C++ is the one C++ book you must have if you're doing serious development with C++." -- Richard Male Shaw Contributing Editor, PC Magazine

With CD-ROM.

In the first edition of Thinking in C++, Bruce Eckel synthesized years of C++ teaching and programming experience into a beautifully structured course in making the most of the language. It became an instant classic, winning the 1995 Software Development Jolt Cola Award for best book of the year. Now, Eckel has thoroughly rewritten Thinking in C++ to reflect the final ANSI/ISO C++ standard. Every page has been revisited and rethought, with many new examples and exercises -- all designed to help you understand C++ "down to the bare metal," so you can solve virtually any problem. Eckel starts with a detailed look at objects, showing how C++ programs can be constructed from off-the-shelf object libraries. This edition includes a new, chapter-length overview of the C features that are used in C++ -- plus a new CD-ROM containing an outstanding C seminar that covers all the foundations developers need before they can truly take advantage of C++. Eckel then walks through initialization and cleanup; function overloading and default arguments; constants; inline functions; name control; references and the copy constructor; operator overloading; and more.There are chapters on dynamic object creation; inheritance and composition; polymorphism and virtual functions, and templates.

(Bonus coverage of string, templates, and the Standard Template Library, can be found at Eckel's web site.) Every chapter contains many modular, to-the-point examples, plus exercises based on Eckel's extensive experience teaching C++ seminars. Put simply, Eckel has made an outstanding book on C++ even better.

Thorough introduction to Standard C++

Introduction and foundations of the Standard C++ Containers (a.k.a. the "STL") (full coverage in Volume 2)

Gives you a solid background in the fundamentals of C++

Takes you step by step through the features of the Language

Illuminated by small, clear, direct examples

Cross platform, tested on multiple compilers including the free GNU C++ compiler

Annotated solutions guide available separately at www.BruceEckel.com

Bonus: Includes the entire "Thinking in C: Foundations for Java & C++" multimedia Seminar-on-CD-ROM to prepare you for this book. CD also contains full HTML version of this book, and complete source code

Bruce Eckel is the author of Thinking in Java and Thinking in C++ (both from Prentice Hall). He provides C++ and Java seminars and design consulting worldwide, has published over 150 articles, was a founding member of the ANSI/ISO C++ committee, and is C++ & Java track chair for the Software Development conference.

Preface

Like any, human language, C++ provides a way to express concepts. If successful, this median of expression wilt he significantly easier, and more flexible than the alternatives as problems grow larger and more complex.

You can't just look at C++ as a collection of features; some of the features make no sense in isolation. You can only use the sum of the parts if you are thinking about design, not simply coding. And to understand C++ this way, you must understand the problems with C and with programming in general. This book discusses programming problems, why they are problems, and the approach C++ has taken to solve such problems. Thus, the set of features I explain in each chapter will be based on the way that I see a particular type of problem being solved with the language. In this way I hope to move you, a little at a time, from understanding C to the point where the C++ mindset becomes your native tongue.

Throughout, I'll be taking the attitude that you want to build a model in your head that allows you to understand the language all the way down to the bare metal; if you encounter a puzzle, you'll be able to feed it to your model and deduce the answer. I will try to convey to you the insights that have rearranged my brain to make me start "thinking in C++."

What's new in the second edition

This book is a thorough rewrite of the first edition to reflect all of the changes introduced in C++ by the finalization of the C++ Standard, and also to reflect what I've learned since writing the first edition. The entire text present in the first edition has been examined and rewritten, sometimes removing old examples, often changing existing examples and adding new ones, and adding many new exercises. Significant rearrangement and re-ordering of the material took place to reflect the availability of better tools and my improved understanding of how people learn C++. A new chapter was added which is a rapid introduction to the C concepts and basic C++ features for those who don't have the C background to tackle the rest of the book. The CD ROM bound into the back of the book contains a seminar that is an even gentler introduction to the C concepts necessary to understand C++ (or Java). It was created by Chuck Allison for my company (MindView, Inc.), and it's called "Thinking in C: Foundations for Java and C++." It introduces you to the aspects of C that are necessary for you to move on to C++ or Java, leaving out the nasty bits that C programmers must deal with on a day-to-day basis but that the C++ and Java languages steer you away from (or even eliminate, in the case of Java).

So the short answer to the question "what's different in the 2nd edition?" is: what isn't brand new has been rewritten, sometimes to the point where you wouldn't recognize the original examples and material.

What's in Volume 2 of this book

The completion of the C++ Standard also added a number of important new libraries, such as string and the containers and algorithms in the Standard C++ Library, as well as new complexity in templates. These and other more advanced topics have been relegated to Volume 2 of this book, including issues such as multiple inheritance, exception handling, design patterns, and topics about building and debugging stable systems.

How to get Volume 2

Just like the book you currently hold, Thinking in C++, Volume 2 is downloadable in its entirety from my Web site at www.BruceEckel.com. You can find information on the Web site about the expected print date of Volume 2.

The Web site also contains the source code for both of the books, along with updates and information about other seminars-on-CD ROM that MindView, Inc. offers, public seminars, and in-house training, consulting, mentoring, and walkthroughs.

Prerequisites

In the first edition of this book, I decided to assume that someone else had taught you C and that you have at least a reading level of comfort with it. My primary focus was on simplifying what I found difficult: the C++ language. In this edition I have added a chapter that is a rapid introduction to C, along with the Thinking in C seminar-on-CD, but I am still assuming that you already have some kind of programming experience. In addition, just as you learn many new words intuitively by seeing them in context in a novel, it's possible to learn a great deal about C from the context in which it is used in the rest of the book.

Learning C++

I clawed my way into C++ from exactly the same position I expect many of the readers of this book are in: as a programmer with a very no-nonsense, nuts-andbolts attitude about programming. Worse, my background and experience was in hardware-level embedded programming, in which C has often been considered a high-level language and an inefficient overkill for pushing bits around. I discovered later that I wasn't even a very good C programmer, hiding my ignorance of structures, malloc( ) and free( ), setjmp( ) and longjmp( ), and other "sophisticated" concepts, scuttling away in shame when the subjects came up in conversation instead of reaching out for new knowledge.'

When I began my struggle to understand C++, the only decent book was Bjarne Stroustrup's self-professed "expert's guide," so I was left to simplify the basic concepts on my own. This resulted in my first C++ book, which was essentially a brain dump of my experience. That was designed as a reader's guide to bring programmers into C and C++ at the same time. Both editions of the book garnered enthusiastic response.

At about the same time that Using C++ came out, I began teaching the language in seminars and presentations. Teaching C++ (and later, Java) became my profession; I've seen nodding heads, blank faces, and puzzled expressions in audiences all over the world since 1989. As I began giving in-house training to smaller groups of people, I discovered something during the exercises. Even those people who were smiling and nodding were confused about many issues. I found out, by creating and chairing the C++ and Java tracks at the Software Development Conference for many years, that I and other speakers tended to give the typical audience too many topics, too fast. So eventually, through both variety in the audience level and the way that I presented the material, I would end up losing some portion of the audience. Maybe it's asking too much, but because I am one of those people resistant to traditional lecturing (and for most people, I believe, such resistance results from boredom), I wanted to try to keep everyone up to speed.

For a time, I was creating a number of different presentations in fairly short order. Thus, I ended up learning by experiment and iteration (a technique that also works well in C++ program design). Eventually I developed a course using everything I had learned from my teaching experience. It tackles the learning problem in discrete, easy-to-digest steps and for a hands-on seminar (the ideal learning situation) there are exercises following each of the presentations. You can find out about my public seminars at www.BruceEckel.com, and you can also learn about the seminars that I've turned into CD ROMs.

The first edition of this book developed over the course of two years, and the material in this book has been road-tested in many forms in many different seminars. The feedback that I've gotten from each seminar has helped me change and refocus the material until I feel it works well as a teaching medium. But it isn't just a seminar handout; I tried to pack as much information as I could within these pages, and structure it to draw you through onto the next subject. More than anything, the book is designed to serve the solitary reader who is struggling...