Beginning C++ Through Game Programming

No doubt one of the the finest C++ primers I've ever encountered, because C++, as a language, is not presented so much as a language as it is a means to teaching the reader GAME programming! Author Michael Dawson's approach to C++ is lean and meaningful. The reader learns C++ in bite-sized pieces as he/she is coding examples. The book outlines different ways of achieving the same result in it's quest to teach game and, incidentally, C++ programming! As Bill Cosby used to quip, "If you're not careful, you just might learn something!" Just as surely as the logic of the program cycles and iterations are absorbed, so are solid C++ programming fundamentals! The accompanying CD-ROM contains valuable coding examples and tools. The programming lessons migrate from the bare essentials (data types, variables and standard I/O) through decision-making to object oriented approaches and advanced use of classes. Great for the would-be beginning C++ programmer!

This book is perfect for anyone who has both either knowledge or for someone who has never program a single program (in C++ of course) in their life. This book comes with a free software to program in C++, along with a lot of great examples. In fact this book is all about example code. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Michael Dawson has such a great programming style that i've come to mimic his style. It's clear, simple, and complex. This IS A GREAT C++ BOOK!!!

This has to be the best book I have so far. Very easily to understand. He is in-depth about every line of code (you will never say "what does that code do?" All of the code on the disk works 100%. I recommend this to anyone wanting to learn C++, even if you have never used it. And a very big plus, if you need questions you can contact the author and he will help you out.

I've been a programmer (vb, asp, perl) for years and have always wanted to get into the higher leveled language of C++ but could never find a book that I enjoyed that could teach me the basics. This book was my savior and the perfect intro to C++, better than any other book I've been able to find. The title is misleading because it's gaming aspect is just for reference. Each program is given a background in a game environment just so the problem at hand makes sense. This book teaches good practice, preplanning and it's code examples and explanations are excellent and thorough without getting too involved in everything. Read a chapter, go back and do the examples and it all starts to make sense, I'd recommend this book as a great starting point to anyone that wants to learn C++.

If you're a beginner and want a place to start programming games then this is the book for you. But be sure of one thing, no book can teach you everything, but with help from books like this one written by Michael Dawson it will help you get your foot into the door and then some. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to get into game programming and knows the basics of C++. Here is a little more info about each chapter for those of you that need it. Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 - Types, Variables, and Standard I/O: Lost Fortune Chapter 2 - Truth, Branching, and The Game Loop: Guess My Number Chapter 3 - For Loops, Strings, and Arrays: Word Jumble Chapter 4 - The Standard Template Library: Hangman Chapter 5 - Functions: Mad-Lib Chapter 6 - References: Tic-Tac-Toe Chapter 7 - Pointers: Tic-Tac-Toe 2.0 Chapter 8 - Classes: Critter Caretaker Chapter 9 - Advanced Classes and Dynamic Memory: Game Lobby Chapter 10 - Inheritance and Polymorphism: Blackjack I hope this helps you out.