Rating: 
Summary: "Hat Trick" for Scott
Review: This is the third book by Scott Meyers that I've owned. It is, as expected, a joy to read. I find Scott's style of writing easy to follow. Although, I suspect you could find everything that's in this book elsewhere, it would be several elsewhweres. Scott wraps it all up in one neat package. I guess I would summarize its utility in one sentence: "BUY THIS BOOK!"
Rating:
Summary: Another must-read book for C++ programmers
Review: This is the third in a series of books by Meyers on using C++ effectively. The book follows the same format as the earlier two: Chapters progress from more fundamental issues to more complex ones; each chapter consists of a sequence of related items; each item is presented (loosely speaking) as a "problem description" and the solution for it.The material covers a wide scope, ranging from stuff that will help first-time STL users (e.g., why to use empty instead of size), to material that helps even long-time STL users. New STL users should find the sections on selecting the most appropriate containers and algorithms very useful. I know I wish I had read something like this when I started using STL. Even though the material is presented very concisely, it is clearly and thoroughly explained. This is not a cook-book: you will not only learn the right way, but also understand *why* it is the right way. As an STL user with about 4 years experience, I found the sections on equality vs. equivalence and function objects particularly enlightening. Although perhaps none of this material was completely "new" to me, seeing it all presented logically really crystalized my understanding of these topics. Meyers discussion of allocators and how to write them is one of the best around. His presentation of why predicates should be stateless is crystal clear (and he makes this the "big deal" it deserves to be). As far as negatives go, I don't have any major criticism of this book. On a minor note, I wish he had been a bit more thorough in his discussion of techniques for dealing with compile-time bugs in STL code. The book discusses how to read compiler diagnostics, but doesn't discuss some other very useful techniques, such as replacing any user-types in containers with ints. In my experience, this can go a long way to separating problems with STL usage, problems with functor usage, and problems in the underlying class stored in the container. The compiler messages for containers of ints are much clearer. And if you can get your code to work (STL-wise) with containers of ints, it should work then with containers to class X, if X is properly written and the functors are properly written. Bottomline: this book is a must read for anyone learning to use the STL, and a great review and reference for experienced STLers.
Rating: 
Summary: Effective STL, More effective STL, More More Effective STL
Review: What happened to the day when an author possessed the ability to convey an ideal within the confines of one book. It is my opinion that Scott Meyers is only out to sell as many books as possible. The next time Scott Meyers decides to write a book; he definitely needs to spend a little more time so that maybe once in his life he will be able to offer a complete product. I was left with the impression that I had purchased the first few chapters of a good book. I guess I will have to wait around for Scott Meyers to finish what he started. What I mean by this is, Scott, When are you going to write More Effective STL? Are you going to make a trilogy of STL and follow More Effective STL up with More More Effective STL? Also, I am still waiting for More More Effective C++ to hit the shelves at $--.-- a pop. Pass this book up and look for something more complete on the STL.
Rating:
Summary: Effective STL, More effective STL, More More Effective STL
Review: What happened to the day when an author possessed the ability to convey an ideal within the confines of one book. It is my opinion that Scott Meyers is only out to sell as many books as possible. The next time Scott Meyers decides to write a book; he definitely needs to spend a little more time so that maybe once in his life he will be able to offer a complete product. I was left with the impression that I had purchased the first few chapters of a good book. I guess I will have to wait around for Scott Meyers to finish what he started. What I mean by this is, Scott, When are you going to write More Effective STL? Are you going to make a trilogy of STL and follow More Effective STL up with More More Effective STL? Also, I am still waiting for More More Effective C++ to hit the shelves at $--.-- a pop. Pass this book up and look for something more complete on the STL.
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