Brilliant beginner's book

In my experience, the hallmark of a true master of a field is his or her ability to write clear and concise introductions to the field in question, aimed at trainees and novices. What C++ is concerned, this text is a true masterpiece as it presents the core concepts clearly and concisely in a way that the novice has a chance to master.

One ingenious aspect which sets this book apart from the oters, is that the enclosed CD contains everything the novice needs to get started, including a C++ compiler and IDE. The author also includes a simple graphics package, which allows the student to start out programming graphics applications from day 1. This visual approach lets the student actually see the effects of the programs, as opposed to the more traditional approach to teaching C++, where operations on, say, text strings are more abstract. By starting out with visual programming, Glassborow postpones one major obstacle - problem abstraction - which might obfuscate the early learning process for the novice programmer.

While problem abstraction is a major part of computer programming, just achieving a rudimentary mastering of C++ requires an intense learning effort. This text's focus on visual applications is a major step to focus the early learning efforts to where they are needed: Learning how to handle the IDE and how to get to grips with basic C++.

Other Reviews

• Needed another draft or two
• Good book, hard to use software, absolutely inappropriate language for beginners
• Brilliant beginner's book
• Another beginner's book in the "Who's afraid of C++" vein
• Great Introduction