Standard C++ Bible

Although I already knew C++ when I got this book, I use it on a weekly basis solely for the last half where the book serves as the best reference I know of for the STL data types and algos. Great book, I recommend it highly

I have 3 or 4 other C / C++ books on my shelf next to this one. I might as well throw them away (except for K & R - you HAVE to own that, but alas that's the OLD days of C).Through this book I finally understood STL - Standard Template Library (which thankfully is gone in C#). It covers all the important topics for any C++ programmer - inheritance, overloading, standard libraries (such as iostreams), etc.You won't get a lot (any) platform dependent stuff like GUIs. However, I wish my college prof's had used this as the intro to C++ programming text book. Granted, there are not any exercises at the ends of chapters, but any prof worth his paycheck can make those up easily enough.Get this as your introduction to C++, or just your reference for dealing with pesky STL.

I liked having the compiler and the source code together. When opening the examples from the book in the compiler, they are not listed as "exercise 6.1" and "excercise 6.2", but instead as "example 6.1: Pointers to Pointers", and so on, which makes it easier to look whatever you're looking for. "C++ the complete reference", by Schildt is presented in a similar way, and I think is a little bit more complete than "standard C++ bible", but you have to download the source code from its website, and then edit it to have it running (all the source code from each chapter is cramped into one file). If you don't mind that, then "C++ the complete reference" might be a better choice, but not by much though.

Conceptually, a well-planned & concise C++ technical overview from the ground up of the language. After a brief introduction by the authors, you are taken into a series of planned practical steps (example programs) which gives you a clear understanding of the architecture and design philosophy through which this language has evolved and why it's the language of choice. The accompanying CD contains a fully integrated developer IDE, which helps you build all the example programs flawlessly. .... ...for those of you who want the "Programming to the Metal" experience, pick this book up. It's a good starting and reference point for the novice right to the pro and its money well spent.