I was developing for quite long time already on C/C++ (mostly C, which makes style poorer). So, I know how to use it. However, quite often I stuck with style decisions like:
- should I return error code here, throw exceptions, return error through a parameter
- should I have all this stuff in constructor or should I create separate init function for that.
and so on.
Any solutions WILL work. However, each of them has cons and pros, which I know and most importantly which I don't know.
It would be very nice to read something regarding overall C++ development style, coding practices and so forth. What do you recommend?
Here is a list of really good books on C++:
The Definitive C++ Book Guide and List
Read few of them as per your level. That would most certainly improve your coding style!
I would personally suggest you to read:
Effective C++ series C++ by Scott Meyers
Exceptional C++ series by Herb Sutter
Exceptional C++ discusses exception-safe code in-depth. After reading this book, I learned how exception-safety effects design of classes, and interfaces. Highly recommended!
I've been recommended this by many people and I have a copy.
Effective C++: 55 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs (3rd Edition)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321334876/christopherheng
One book in particular jumps out: C++ Coding Standards. This book does recommend some slightly questionable/useless ideas (like postfix _ for members) but mostly it's very solid.
Next important ones for style are the "Exceptional" book by Sutter. The good thing about them is that they cover important areas where C++ is rather..."different". It covers how to protect your code against exceptions and explains in detail the effects of exceptions upon coding practices.
The Myers books are good too, but a little dated. The Red books are more important IMHO.
Another dated book that is often overlooked is Generic Programming and the STL. It's almost, possibly IS, pre-standard but it discusses the hows and whys of the STL, which is pretty darn important for any C++ developer. Always amazes me how amazed people are when I show them a bit of tag-dispatching code.
It's an older book, but I'm a big fan of 'Code Complete' from Microsoft. It helped me to think about some of the design choices like the ones you've described. They advocate a strategy of designing code that helps to debug itself.
A very rudimentary example is variable testing in an if statement
if(nCheck = 1) {
// will always do this because nCheck was assigned 0
}
if you get into the habit of writing your if statements like the following
if(1 = nCheck) {
// Now the compiler will catch the assignment as an error
}
Your code should help you by catching most of the easy syntactical bugs. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The book has many such examples of clever practices that microsoft has used over the years.
For better understanding C++ and for style I would recommend
Effective C++ series from Meyers
C++ FAQs (the book) from Cline
Both are also an "easy reading" thanks to the small-pills format.
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C++ tutorial for experienced C programmer.
I program in a number of languages frequently and have been using C++ lately. Basically my classes are just wrappers around pure C code. Almost like a struct with associated methods. This gives me the encapsulation and privacy that I want for my data. I have a small hierarchy of classes and am just barely using inheritance.
I am familiar with OO concepts and know what search terms to use when i need to find out about a particular concept in this regard. However, as I have discovered in my foray in the programming world, often the language features that are really helpful are hidden to the newcomer or novice, and the useful bits that I need have already been written and are in a library somewhere that is freely available (most times part of the framework - like in .NET).
What path would you suggest to gain this vital knowledge in C++ and stop myself reinventing the wheel (poorly).
This is the wrong way to use C++. You would be better served grabbing a copy of Accelerated C++ and reading it. Yes, it's a beginner book but unless you want to continue treating C++ as just C with objects then you need to focus on how C++ programmers do things instead of just sticking with what you already know. You need to start from the beginning and build a good foundation in C++.
Learn the STL if you're going to really plan to use C++ in the future. Though opinions will vary widely, particularly among the die-hards, I think there is absolutely no problem using C++ as "C with objects."
Boost is also pretty awesome.
EDIT: Note the downvotes already coming in from the die-hards. C++ acolytes really don't like to hear people advocate using the language as "C with objects." I stand by my statement. You can write quite shippable and commercially viable code without going crazy with an RTTI-enabled, templatized, multiply-inherited set of classes. Remember KISS.
Scott Meyers' books are a great place for C programer to begin with C++.
I recommend Thinking In C++ by Bruce Eckle. Normally it's available for free online, or as a book.
I suggest you read the books:
"C++ Coding Standards: 101 Rules, Guidelines and Best Practices" --Sutter & Alexandrescu
"Modern C++ Design: Generic Programming and Design Patterns Applied" --Alexandrescu
And probably anything else by Andrei Alexandrescu that you can get your hands on.
Then, there are a number of design patterns and programming idioms that make it very clear why "C with objects" is extremely reductionist. Just to name a few: RAII (Resource Allocation Is Initialization), PImpl (or Cheshire Cat), Factory functions, Smart Pointers, Singleton, Type Traits, Expression Templates, etc. When you know about these, you are no longer programming in C++, but in ++C (because you get a result that actually reflects the increment over C).
As for not reinventing the wheel, like many have said already, make sure to first explore the possibilities in the Standard Template Library (STL) (which is much richer than you might think) and then look at Boost (www.boost.org) which has libraries for a lot of diverse purposes and they are extremely high quality (and some are just works of art, like Spirit, Proto, Lambda and MPL). After that, there is of course a large amount of open-source software in C++ out there, but use it with caution: sometimes it is better to reinvent a wheel that fits perfectly to your application than to use one that might not be appropriate or powerful enough, or worse, full of bugs!
I suggest the book The C++ Programming Language for filling in the gaps in your basic C++ knowledge, and BOOST as the first place to look for existing libraries supporting your programming.
Have you thought about getting the C++ Primer Plus? It's a really good book.
The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference
Read Meyers for specific tips, but also Stroustrup's Design and Evolution. The latter gets into the motivation as to why C++ is what it is, and very much comes from a "how to improve C" viewpoint.
As for "The C++ Programming Language", 3rd edition is very long. If you can find the 2nd edition, its much more digestible, although of course occasionally out of date (but mostly just less complete).
While there are lots of questions about coding style, beautifying, and enforcement, I haven't found any example C++ files that are used as a quick reference for style. The file should be one or two pages long and exemplify a given coding standard/style.
For example, the Google C++ Style Guide is a great reference, but I think a one to two page piece of code written in their style pinned to a wall would be more useful in day-to-day use.
Do any of these already exist?
I think Bjarne's JSF AV C++ Coding Standards (doc) is pretty awesome. Although it's a long read, and it goes against stuff you can use safely in everyday applications, etc, it's a good document.
This is because it explains the reasons and gives examples of when it's ok to break the rules and why, therefore it's a veritable tome of knowledge and experience.
Instant c++ level up! :)
I'm not sure if you would consider it 'style' (I would) but Scott Meyer's Effective C++ is a great book for learning good practices in c++. In my opinion if you exercise these practices your 'style' will follow.
Note that it contains lots of examples to re-enforce his lessons. That being said there isn't a large code sample that you can just browse to look at style. Again i think with good practices in place the style will follow.
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I'm a practicing C++ programmer (on Unix and gcc 3.x) for the past 6-7 years. I've read Scott Meyer's Effective C++, More Effective C++ and Effective STL cover-to-cover and have lived and practiced his suggestions/techniques along with Boost. I would like to move on to the more advanced aspects of C++ - something along the lines of 'Modern C++ Design' by Andrei Alexandrescu. However, before starting to read this, I am wondering if I should spend time reading Herb Sutter's Exceptional C++ books as well. How would you compare the Effective C++ series with Sutter's books?
Thanks a lot in advance for your response.
Read as much as you can - differing perspectives are always valuable.
Yes, absolutely. Herb Sutter covers a lot of very important, but generally poorly understood areas of the language and provides lots of useful guidance for writing more robust code.
While it's true that much of the material originated on the gotw site, it is expanded and better organized in the books. If you can answer all of the problems correctly then you find that you are very rarely faced with code that you don't understand why it behaves like it does. You may also find yourself heading off many potential problems that you spot in code before they become real issues.
I got a lot more out of the Exceptional C++ books than I did out of Effective C++, but this is going to be a very personal thing.
Frankly, Herb Sutter yanks a lot in the exception safety ever since the introduction of the idea in one of the journals of the pre-2000 age. The fact he used it a lot on replication and transactional systems makes sense, and unless you are a huge follower and interested in only the software of such 'safety' kind you will be bored to death. Meyers is far more practical and engaging.
Besides, if you want to move on, there are other books in the series, notably from the legends and not the writers for the sake of writing. Look up the bits from Nicolai Josuttis (C++ Templates: The Complete Guide), Aleksey Gurtovoy (C++ Template Metaprogramming) and more recently 'Daddy 2' Stepanov. In my opinion, they are more influential, knowledgable, practical and shaping than anything DDJ or exception safety induced writeups...
And of course, if you ever need to go back to basics (and there is always a reason to), one of the best possible books on the subject is by the daddy himself: The C++ Programming Language (most underestimated and skimmed over book out there).
Read The Definitive C++ Book Guide and List. "Exceptional C++" is on the list.
I like the C++ Coding Standard book because it's just that, a coding standard.
Effective C++ introduces important ideas, and was my first read too. C++ Coding Standards however is shaped like a coding standard, which any person programming should have. There are a number of other coding standards available, Sutter's one has the advantage of being concise and well explained (only 100 items very neatly classified).
I would take the time, if I were you, to read the C++ Coding Standards and the Guru of the Week entries before moving on to meta-template programming.
Meta-template programming is interesting. I loved Modern C++ Programming and its approaches. However it is less used in practice I think, strengthen the basics as much as you can, then you can always play around with 'new' ideas.
I would absolutely recommend the Exceptional C++ books if you're looking to move into more advanced C++. My sense from reading both series is that the Effective C++ books tell you how to write code that doesn't completely suck, and the Exceptional C++ books tell you how to write code that's rock-solid and bulletproof. I was less taken with Modern C++ Design; if you want to get into serious template metaprogramming it's pretty much the definitive work, but I found it a little... out there for my taste, particularly where he builds this gloriously complicated template structure that'll bring tears to your eyes with its sheer beauty, and then mentions "Oh yeah, this doesn't actually work on any compiler that's currently available".
I found both books interesting and useful. There are lot of common topics and you might already know them, but certainly it will help.
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I'm something of a new, reluctant convert to C++ from a Pascal, Ruby, and PHP background. I haven't worked with Pascal since a few months of torture with "Delphi Turbo;" since then I've practically been eating and sleeping Ruby and PHP. I'm already well acquainted with object oriented programming and many various subjects.
My main trouble is that I already know the rudiments of C/C++ programming, less the actual experience of working with C++. I worked with C for long enough to realize that even without macros, etc, I didn't want to work with it. (Some of the disgust was from maintaining a CGI application in C, when accustomed to Pascal's automatic string management.) I know just enough C++ to be dangerous to myself and anyone else unwitting enough to use my "code."
I'd really like to work up to a good enough understanding of C++ to use libraries like Crypto++ and Boost without major problems or in-depth knowledge of the language's intricacies. I just need to figure out how to work with C++ without killing myself (either with C++, or with the long-standing dislike that I'm already battling).
What are effective resources that will teach me C++ without assuming that I must be retaught all basic programming? I'd rather not relearn concepts that I already know, unless the paradigm in C++ is significantly different. I'm also learning on my own time, so don't recommend me a book complex enough to need a guru to explain to me, please! And I have an effective budget of $0 for learning C++, so please keep suggestions to quality online resources or books common enough that I could likely find them at the library.
Read Effective C++ by Scott Meyers - it's a good guide for getting past the basics of C++ and showing how to write and use "correct" C++ code
The C++ FAQ Lite is a great resource.
I highly recommend Stroustrup: The C++ Programming Language (Third Edition). As the author of C++ he is the authority on the language, and the book is useful as a reference as much as it is for learning the language. It's common enough that most good general purpose libraries will have a copy. He goes into quite some depth on all the features of C++, including explanations of why certain design decisions were made in the language. Personally, I think this is the best book around for programmers to learn C++.
Once you have a good grip on core C++, David Abrahams and Aleksey Gurtovoy's book, C++ Template Metaprogramming, goes into further depth and provides many examples of how C++'s template system allows you to perform complex compile-time programming, a highly valuable skill these days. This one is a little less common but you can probably find it at a university library.
I can give you a couple of keywords you might want to research in more detail:
RAII (Is pretty much the technique that ensures you don't have to worry about memory leaks. Very convenient)
Generic Programming (The STL in particular. Experiment with iterators and the standard library algorithms, and see just how powerful these abstractions are. They're a key part of what I like about C++)
Functors (Perhaps too simple on their own, but the way they can be used instead of function pointers with the algorithms mentioned above is interesting)
And just get familiar with templates, and "mild" forms of template metaprogramming. (Traits classes, for example, and (partial) specializations.
And just keep an eye on the C++ questions here on SO. A lot of interesting topics are regularly brought up.
But the best advice is probably to keep it completely separate from C. Forget everything you learned about how to use C. It either doesn't apply in C++, or leads to inferior code that is harder to read and maintain.
It's an interesting language in its own right, and has a number of unique features. Leverage those, and it can actually be fun to work with C++. Treat it as an overengineered Java, PHP or C, and it'll just make you want to throw up.
You need to write code. A lot of code in C++. There is no substitute. You also need to read good code.
I agree with the suggestion for Scott Meyers' books though. Those are pretty good.
Part of your learning will be the leap from procedural programming to OO.
I would highly recommend the book "C++ Common Knowledge" by Stephen C. Dewhurst. Don't know if it's common enough to be found at the library (it's not at mine, but my library sucks for computer books that aren't 5-10 years out of date), but it does an excellent job of taking the complex aspects of C++ and making them easy to understand, without dumbing anything down for beginners. Definitely worth the investment.
To quote from the back of the book:
This book is for you if
You're no "dummy," and you need to get quickly up to speed in intermediate to advanced C++
You've had some experience in C++ programming, but reading intermediate and advanced C++ books is slow-going
You've had an introductory C++ course, but you've found that you still can't follow your colleagues when they're describing their C++ designs and code
You're an experienced C or Java programmer, but you don't yet have the experience to develop nuanced C++ code and designs
You're a C++ expert, and you're looking for an alternative to answering the same questions from your less-experienced colleagues over and over again
C++ Common Knowledge covers essential
but commonly misunderstood topics in
C++ programming and design while
filtering out needless complexity in
the discussion of each topic. What
remains is a clear distillation of the
essentials required for production C++
programming, presented in the author's
trademark incisive, engaging style.
Here is a link to a question with answers that should help you.
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1227764/i-need-to-improve-my-c-skills-fast-is-this-realistically-possible/1227805#1227805
For effective stuff you can find online Cplusplus.com has a pretty good reference and information.
If you can find the book "C++ Common Knowledge" (Stephen Dewhurst) at the library or cheaply online, I would add that to the list posted on the StackOverflow link above as well as "The C++ Programming Language" (Stroustrup). Going through the questions under the C++ tag right here on SO should give you some good pointers and code examples to get you on your way.
Here's a list of good C++ books which teach you C++ rather than basics of programming.
Sit down and write some C++ code.
I've been doing C++ for 3-4 months in a local college and I'm doing extra reading / learning using Accelerated C++ and so far, I've "finished" it. Now, I'm wondering which book to get next that'll help me code better in C++.
I've looked around and found this: The Definitive C++ Book Guide and List
I'm sorry if this question may seem stupid for most of you here but I'm a bit tight in cash and I would really want to invest in something that's "right" for me at this time.
Right now, I only know the basics of stuff like (classes, templates, STL, iterators, dynamic memory management).
Do you have any suggestions? Should I focus on STL or templates..? Or should I read something like The C++ Programming language?
If you haven't yet read Stroustrup's books, they are definitely a good read. There's nothing quite like reading about the language from the person who designed it.
Whenever I learn a new language, I always try to find the canonical reference material written by the language designer or somebody very close to them.
In addition to reading Stroustrup's books (suggested by another answer here), I'd suggest his two FAQs as a great starting point:
Bjarne Stroustrup's FAQ
C++ Style and Technique FAQ
They both link to further reading material.
These two, along with the C++ FAQ Lite, are required reading for new programmers at my workplace.
Once you're even a bit more comfortable, consider jumping in to the community: subscribe to something like the boost mailinglists, watch the blogs of big name figures like Herb Sutter, read Alexandrescu's Guru of the Week articles. You may feel like you're in over your head (I still do often after many years of reading the lists) but you'll learn a ton, especially watching the language grow and evolve. (And this stuff is free!)
You can get more understanding from watching how a language changes over time, and how people actually use it, than you can from a million hours of memorizing the standard. (Not that shelling out a few bucks to have a copy of the ISO/IEC standard around is a bad idea, mind -- great for reference from time to time.)
As for books:
after the Stroustrup books,
start with the Meyers ("Effective") books.
I'd also recommend C++ Coding Standards -- a great amount of work went into gathering the "common sense" of the users of the language in this book.
Then if you want to blow your mind you can look at Modern C++ Design or some of the fun template metaprogramming resources...
Above all, just stay connected and interested. Mailinglists, blogs, websites, academic papers, magazines, whatever -- choose what suits you best, don't expect to follow everything all the time, but keep your ears and eyes open; find aspects that interest you and follow them!
The C++ Programming Language would give you the best overview of the language. It sounds like you have that but the section on object oriented programming is worthwhile. I'd probably spend more time learning about object oriented programming at this point than more specific C++ features.
A book like "Code Complete" might be a good choice for you.
I feel like you can probably make more progress learning to program by tackling real programming problems, rather than reading another book.
I certainly don't discount the value of books as a programming resource but I do think there is no better way to learn a programming language than writing real code. Given your financial constraints, you have the additional motivation that writing code is free.
Concentrating on a particular part of the language or a pattern for programming might be interesting, but a specific problem to solve will give you context that, in my opinion, is a more powerful learning mechanism.
Of course, you can't write code in a vacuum. You have already read Accelerated C++ which will probably give you more than enough to get started writing code, but there are also a whole pile of resources on the net that will help (StackOverflow is a great place to start).
Tutorials for Win32
Online C resources
VC6 Tutorial
These are my favorite:
Effective C++ - Scott Meyers
C++ Standard Library Tutorial and Reference - Nicolai Josuttis
I might suggest a library card, or hanging out and reading Border's, to make sure the books are helpful for you.
a Good book for templates - C++ Templates by David Vandevoorde, Nicolai M. Josuttis
Learn STL more and more, there is a
lot more to learn.
learn Boost. This would change how
you think about programming in C++.
If you want to go very deep, read Stroustrup's papers. Select a paper now and then, print it, read it carefully. Stroustrup is an excellent writer. reading his papers would make you a superior C++ programmer for sure.
My favorite list is :
A History of C++: 1979-1991, A
History of C++: 1979-1991. After
I read those papers I loved C++.
What is Object-Oriented
Programming?
Why C++ isn't just an
Object-Oriented Programming
Language.
Sixteen Ways to Stack a Cat.
This is a jewel that everyone ought
to read :)
If you don't want to spend money, you should learn multi-threaded programming. The basics are already in the books you have, and described in API documentation. Try to actively create a program with many threads that communicate back and forth, and then multiply the number of threads to see if you've made a good design.
You'll want to read up on Semaphores, Mutexes, and Critical Sections.
I take three approaches to multi-threaded programming:
Use a PostMessage style communication between threads
Pass thread-safe objects between threads through which data is stored and relayed
Initialize a thread on start-up, let it run on its own, and then retrieve the data at the end of the run
If you're ready to spend money, I would recommend Design Patterns as a good next-read. It's more generic, and you'll find some of the ideas make sense.
I think you started out with just the right book! For those who didn't know, this book starts with STL at the beginning and leaves pointers for the end. Most programmers learn C first, and consequently have a forever distorted view of what C++ can be.
It might be really interesting for you to now read 'The C Programming Lanugage' by Kernigan & Richie at this point. This is probably a necessity if you want to understand the mindset behind most C/C++ code in the world today.
But more important than your next programming book is to find a medium-sized program you really want to write, and go after it. Use all kinds of reference materials for the project. Incorporate a boost library or two in your program.
If you are tight on cash, read How to Think Like a Computer Scientist. Also read the FAQ lite.