TITLE: ruminations on c++ (Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.c++.moderated, 14 Oct 96) PROBLEM: Subramanian Balakrishnan wrote: > > I am planning to buy > > " Ruminations On C++" by > > A. Koenig and B. Moo > > > > Could somebody throw some light on the usefulness of the book. > > > > I am an intermediate level C++ user. RESPONSE: Chris Kuan > I haven't read the book myself, but I saw an advertisement for it once. > > I believe that it would be similar to Bjarne Stroustrup's > "The Design And Evolution of C++", in that it would describe > some of what these two people went through as they helped > develop C++ from its beginnings. RESPONSE: bs@research.att.com (Bjarne Stroustrup) These are two of my favorite C++ books and two that I think most C++ programmers would benefit from reading. Even non-C++ programmers have found them useful for getting an impression of what C++ is and why. They are, however, very different books in topics covered, in organization, and in style. You probably will be able to find some overlap between them because Andy, Barbara, and I have worked quite closely together for a long time, but you'd have to look hard. "D&E" is a fairly systematic and complete presentation of why C++ is the way it is. It focussed on design principles, practical constraints, and gives lots of examples - of programming techniques, of language features, and even of features that didn't make it into C++. People who read it have commented that knowing the reasons behind the C++ design helped them become better C++ programmers. You can find more information on D&E in my homepages. "Ruminations" is a selection of Andy's best columns from "The C++ Report" and "The Journal of Object-Oriented Programming." They have been heavily revised and carefully selected to provide a coherent whole. This is an example where the whole is more than the sum of its parts. People who have enjoyed the original journal coulums have been preasently surprised by the book. The colums are short, easily read, discussions on issues to do with the ways C++ can be used. Many interesting, novel, and useful techniques have their most concise and insightful presentation in these colums. The original questioner was deemed himself an intermediate C++ user. "Ruminations" points to ways of becoming expert. "Ruminations" is a good read, and full of useful insights.