Damien LOISON

C++ Minimal Bibliography

Nothing is more generic than the language itself

For every complex problem there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong

Some colleagues asked me some references to learn the C++. Below is a non exhaustive list of books.

To begin

Choose any "good" book. I recommend you the Josuttis. Otherwise you can access freely the Thinking in C++ 2nd Edition by Bruce Eckel.
Exercise what you learned: I advice you the Meyers's Effective C++ and More Effective C++.
The Standard Template Library (STL). I advice you the Josuttis The C++ Standard Library as a reference/tutorial and the Meyers's Effective STL to know how to apply it.
Templates. I advice you the Vandevoorde&Josuttis C++ Templates: The Complete Guide. It is clear and almost exhaustive.

Understand C++

The design and evolution of C++, Stroustrup. My preferred book. How the C++ has evolved from the beginning to 1994. I do not think that you can understand C++ without reading it.
Learn the C. The C progamming language, K&R
Learn assembler. Not absolutely necessary, but very helpful to understand any programming language. Unfortunately books about assembler are out of date or too much exhaustive. But one book, accessible freely, gives you a good overview: PC Assembly Language.
Learn compiler writing. Not absolutely necessary, but very helpful to learn any programming language. I found Introduction to Compiler Construction accessible.
Elis&Stroustrup, The annotated C++ Reference manual. Out of date, sure. And this is why you have to read it! If you want to understand how the language has evolved, and why there are so "interesting" features in C++.

Important

The Practice of Programming, by Brian W. Kernighan, Rob Pike. Simple, clear and general.
Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software, by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, John Vlissides. The "definitive" book on design patterns. Keep it on your desk!
Modern C++ Design: Generic Programming and Design Patterns Applied, by Andrei Alexandrescu. Very interesting solutions
Numerical Recipes in C++: The Art of Scientific Computing, by William H. Press (Editor), Saul A. Teukolsky (Editor), William T. Vetterling, Brian P. Flannery. Do you really want to program without it? Keep it on your desk!
The C++ Programming Language (Special 3rd Edition), by Bjarne Stroustrup. Not a tutorial ... but the reference.

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