Sams Teach Yourself Visual C++.Net in 21 Days

The author David Chapman is the exception to the rule for "Sams Teach Yourself in 21 days" books, which are usually poorly written. But Chapman is an exceptionally good writer. I agree with all the positive reviews for this book. Chapman gives you a series of exercises and you learn by doing them. True, this book is not the only book you will need in C++.NET, but it is a good start. Another excellent book for Visual C++, that is not "managed C++" (.NET) but traditionaal Visual C++ (no garbage collection) is "Intro to MFC Programming with Visual C++" by Richard M. Jones. A bit dated? Hardly. Buy these two books and you'll be well on your way to understanding what the "wizards" do in Visual C++.

Those reviews of this Sam's book that complain that it is a rehash, too basic, etc. are misguided. They must not have payed close attention to the scope and purpose of this book! I came to Visual C++ knowing ZERO about C++ or GUI (I thought it was spelled "gooey") or much else about programming. Yet, with this book I managed to create a useful, functional windows program in a few weeks that is now being utilized by a busy doctor's office. THIS BOOK IS FOR BEGINNERS, NOT HIGHLY EXPERIENCED PROGRAMMERS. Honestly, having looked into other books on the subject I have no idea how I'd have been able to learn what I did as quickly as I did if not for the Sam's book. Granted, it doesn't cover everything, but no book can. It covers more than enough of the basics to get up and running in a surprising amount of time. BEGINNERS: BUY THIS BOOK!

I am just a college student and have no experience on Windows program before, but I only know C++. If you are just like me, starting VC with this book will make your life much easier. If you are a professional, use something more advance. This is book is just for beginner with C++ background. If you don't know about C++, don't use it because it won't teach you C++ on this book.