apparently there will be a white flag above my door

[tiedyedave]

I am looking for recommendations on a good book for learning C++. Ideally this book would be targeted at programmers already proficient in C and already aware of many of the potential subtleties of language semantics. It should cover everything: STL, classes, templates, the works. I want to know every trick, every quirk, every special case, every nuance. If it doubles as a good reference text, even better.

Why? I would like to not fail computer graphics. The final project is open-ended and will probably allow me to return to ML or some variant, but the current project has a huge starter code component, which is resistant to interfacing and would take at least three weeks to reimplement. I would also like for my future criticisms of C++ to stem from a much deeper understanding of the language.

Comments

[nickjong.livejournal.com]

You do have Stroustrup's The C++ Programming Language, right? Go straight to the source, dude.

[tiedyedave]

I guess it would be best to get it from The Man Himself.

[foolmonkey.livejournal.com]

Plus, unlike most people, you'll actually be able to read it.

Stroustrup doesn't cover STL, though.

[nickjong.livejournal.com]

Hey. Stroustrup's bible is no more inscrutable than other bibles. :o)

My edition (3rd) does cover the STL, actually. Dave, you are welcome to borrow my copy, if you like. I have it in my office on campus.

[tiedyedave]

I would like, in fact, to do exactly that, when next I see you on campus. Thanks.

[creidieki.livejournal.com]

I found "C++ for Game Programmers", by Noel Llopis, to be a very good book on intermediate-to-advanced C++ for large software projects. I can't judge it against other books, because I don't have any others which cover those topics.

If you have not looked at the C++ Faq Lite, at http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/ , then you need to.

[tiedyedave]

I like this FAQ already:

[6.5] Is C++ better than Ada? (or Visual Basic, C, FORTRAN, Pascal, Smalltalk, or any other language?)

Stop. This question generates much much more heat than light.

I think that's the best answer I've ever heard to any variant of that question posed to any language.

[x77303066.livejournal.com]

That site is amazing. That and SGI STL ref should do you pretty well. For template hackery, you might want to check out Modern C++ Design by Alexandrescu (it's a nifty book in general).