C/C++ Programmer's Reference

As an experienced programmer, this book is simply ideal for me. Whether to remind me of the ordering of parameters to functions or to recall the subtleties of using the STL, it's all there.The book is thoroughly cross-referenced, has an excellent index, and is well organized -- it can be meaningfully browsed end to end, an extraordinary accomplishment. Mr. Schildt describes each entry concisely, thoroughly, and in a completely readable way. Consider for example the following description of the "static" keyword:"static is a data type modifier that creates permanent storage for the local variable that it precedes. This enables the specified variable to maintain its value between function calls, for example. "static can also be used to declare global variables. In this case, it limits the scope of the variable that it modifies to the file in which it is declared. "In C++, when static is used on a class data member, it causes only one copy of that member to be shared by all objects of its class."That is without compare the cleanest description of the keyword I've ever seen. This is a typical entry; it's all there, with enough detail that I recall exactly what is going on.I am amused by the various bad reviews which complain that this is not a "complete" reference. It is exactly the judicious editing and concision which makes this so useful to me. My only complaint is in fact the opposite; that in some cases it goes into too much detail. There are sporadic "Programming Tips" scattered throughout, and I find each of these to be a waste of time in a reference text. These would seem more appropriate in an introductory text.In short, this is an extremely useful reference for the experienced developer.

This book is a "Must Have" for any serious C/C++ programmer. It is not intended for people learning to program, but is excellent for people who want to know: what is the format of operator overloading, or a C++ template, or the parameters to the strstr function. It is well laid-out whith function names and keywords highlighted so that they are easily seen when thumbing through the pages. Very good table of contents and index.

I agree, the first guy was clueless. This is a fantastic reference. The key word here is reference; this book does not teach you C++, nor does it try to. It is like a dictionary of the language. This is the book to look stuff up in when writing real code. I like the style of this book much better than that of the "In a Nutshell" reference books, so I plan to get the Java version of this book ("Java 2 Programmer's Reference") instead of "Java in a Nutshell". Stuff is much easier to find. Most compilers come with their own reference on disk, but they usually mix platform dependent stuff with platform independent stuff. I need my code to be as portable as possible, so I prefer to look stuff up in here. It's cheap. It's great. Buy it.

This book is immensely helpful for anyone with prior programming experience that wants to quickly learn c/c++. The layout of the book is great, and the way they differentiate c from c++ is very simply stated. They also quickly explain the basic concepts in c/c++ very well. They give it to you straight, and don't treat you as clueless like most books do. I strongly recommend it.. but only if you already know programming.

This book has been a valuable reference for myself and my collegues. I also have "STL from the ground up" but find that 99% of the time I turn to "C/C++ Programmers's Reference" as a STL reference.