general

I'm a CS/Math double major at Cameron University and this is, quite fortunately, the book we ended up using for my C.S. I class. Except for Dietel' excellent book (which I recommend even more than this one), there is no other book out there that explains the basics of C++ so clearly, at least that I have read. Topics difficult to the CS I student, such as classes, pointers, and virtual functions are explained eloquently with well-written examples. The sample code is a lot more simple and straight-forward than in many books but still illustrates the topics in detail.

The ordering of the book is one thing that may throw some people off, however. Arrays are introduced surprisingly late, and classes are introduced earlier than I have ever seen in a c++ textbook. This may be untraditional, but being introduced to classes early gives you a good jump-start into serious c++ programming. Although our class followed the chapters sequencially, the material is flexible and the order can be changed up to something more traditional (some suggested orderings are given in the introduction). Our class happenened to follow the material sequentially, so it was something I took note of.

The only real beef I had with this book is that it covers most, but not all of the basics. Macros and pragmas are not included and inline functions are only mentioned very briefly in the appendix without full explanation. Macro guards (#ifndef,#endif, etc.) are presented in chapter 9 but the concept of macros really isn't covered. Also there is no coverage on delegates and event-handling. The basic cin/cout streams are used and many stream functions are explained but a full explanation on handling streams and buffers is not included. Additionally, the STL libraries are barely touched on except for and , but I guess, like us, that can be saved for a later course. Overall, I highly recommend this book for learning purposes, but eventually get a second reference.

First year student in programming, I have to understand clear and fast. The interval between what I am tought and the assignments I must hand in could hardly be shorter. Walter Savitch's has prooven the best learning tool to grasp concepts and relationships between program components, complementing rightly the professor's lectures. As a starter for someone without any programming bacground, the book provides basic though serious theoretical knowledge. It takes the reader into the dynamics of C++ programs, explaining with detailed diagrams what happends, why and when during the source code execution. The coverage is wide enough (up to classes and recursivity) and the answered exercices are particularly welcome. Experts (God bless them) may find it superficial, the book sacrifying on purpose extensive covering of the C++ language ressources to comments upon the fundamental points that will serve you the rest of your programmer life. One could be a bit puzzled about finding arrays as far as chapter 9 but here you can jump on the chapter as it flow in class. To say it in one word, it is one of the very rare book in programming that deserves to be said a pedagogic one, made by an author with an obvious concern about making students understand how programs are actually working. Not sufficient by itself, it is thus nevertheless quite a rare gem in the world of machine books.

I have looked over a good number of C++ books for several of the undergraduate courses I teach. The wrong introduction can turn students off a language for life. Finding an introductory book with just the right pitch and level of difficulty is difficult. Savitch's book seems to fit my needs in this respect. It is accessible, readable and the examples are clear enough for students to work through without having to look over their shoulders continuously. yes, it is a litle on the wordy side, but it is a small defect overall. If you will continue to use C++, Savitch is a firm foundation for moving on to other more advanced texts. The bottom line is that you have to start somewhere in learning programming and this is as good as I have seen in C++.