Rating: 
Summary: Great
Review: Although I'm not very familiar with the other current, modern literature on the subject, I couldn't imagine a better C++ introduction. I recommend it to anyone interested in learning the language. This book has thoroughly reinforced my previously weak knowledge of C++. It contains very few mistakes and typos, the (few) puns are not too bad and at a bearable level (unlike those of some other programming books).It covers everything I would ever want from a modern C++ introduction. Lafore is great.
Rating:
Summary: Oustanding C++ Guide!
Review: Can't say enough good things about this book. It has everything in it, well presented, easy to follow. The examples always show you just the right amount of info, without distractions. If you buy one C++ book, make it this one.
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Summary: Lafore could explain quantum physics to an infant
Review: Concerning OOP in C++ and Data Structures and Algorithms in Java I've been a software engineer for roughly two years now. I was fortunate to have learned C++ and Data Structures by books written by Lafore. In my time in the field, I've noticed that I have a much stronger understanding of C++ and Data Structures than many of my senior programmers. It appears that the books they learned from in college were so esoteric and academic (Introduction to Algorithms (MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science))that they actually fear opening the book, let alone creating binary trees, heaps and weighted graphs. Of course they are also C spaghetti programmers and they have no problem with global variables. When I was in college the required C++ text was Deitel and Deitel's C++ How to Program. The book was just plain boring to me, fell apart and looked like it was written in some sort of linux text editor. Although the other half of C++ programmers prefer this book over any other, I eventually used Lafore's Object Oriented Programming in C++ to learn the material. OOP in C++ is actually fun to read compared to the snoozers the old guys used to read. In my opinion, there is no other technical writer that compares. He makes the material so easy you are convinced that you are missing something. When I hear a senior programmer talk in fear about data structures and that scary "Object Oriented Programming" I always have to question if they know something about OOP and DSA that I don't know about? Is there? Cuz I'm still questioning it. I'm ok with the OPP but that spegetti code scares the daylights out of me. Drawbacks: Lafore only brushes the surface of Big O notation and pseudo code in his data structures book. He also worded the book so nicely that many of my senior programmers have made degrading comments about how the book was written for grade schoolers, yet they use my Lafore's Data Structure book 10 times more than they do their "MIT algorithms" book. That's got to say something. If your taking a college course, use Lafore's books as backup text books. You'll be thankful you did. I like this guys writing so much I wait for his next book as if it he was Stephen King. I feel like a groupie. Well anyway..
Thanks,
Dave
Rating: 
Summary: A very good book
Review: First I wanna mention that this is not a text book from the college view point. If you're looking for such book, I recommend Paul Wang's Standard C++ with Object Oriented Programming. For a reference book on ANSI C++, I recommend C++ Primer by Stanley B. Lippman, Josee Lajoie. If you know C or JAVA, this is probably the best and most complete book for learning C++. The chapters are well organized and easy to read and review. There is a review and a test section at the end of each chapter.
Rating:
Summary: Lafore is Great
Review: First off I am only 24 years old so I guess you could say I am a beginner. If you need a more expert review, look elsewhere. I have been reading Lafore's texts for about the last 14 years (and programming in C++ about as long). I learned to program in C++ reading his books after having only a couple years experience with GW-BASIC (line numbers suck). I also used his books to get an early start on Windows 3.1 about 10 years ago. I read about a programming book a week (averages about 500-1000 pages) so I guess I have about an average idea of the literature out there. I always highly recommend Lafore's texts. They are the best introductory C++ books I have ever seen. He always is very good at covering everything from the basics to the portions of the C++ specification a person needs to start coding modern C++ code(Stroustoup is good too but a little harder to read - not beginner books.. Wait til you have been writting code about two years so can appreciate the other).His books teach you how to write C++ code the way it was meant to be written now not 5 years ago. Lafore's books were teaching use of objects (unfortunately not quite modern (2003)OOP at the time) when everyone else was using C++ as a base to write good functional (procedural) code. He is very good with explanations. Many students I have run into spend hours and frustration before reading his books for a couple minutes. His abilities of explaining programming concepts should set a goal for anyone trying to be a good technical writer or just working to communicate with normal people. I am tempted to buy this volume just for the nostalgia.
Rating: 
Summary: Good... But I would highly recomend OOP expierence
Review: First off, I am only about half way through this book. However I can tell you just from that, that this book is good if you have expierence in OOP and atleast a basic idea of how it works. Robert Lafore does a great job of explaining how syntax works and when to use it.
It's really a disapointment though to see his explanations of OOP not live up to his syntaxtical (if thats a word) explanations. For someone who has NEVER programmed before then you'll be lost as to what exactly he is talking about. His examples to the real world are often to bleak and he doenst give enough detail explaining his relations.
I am not saying the book is down right terriable. I am just saying if you have never programmed before and are looking to go into C++ I would atleast recomend browsing the first few chapters of other books or read online tutorials so you can atleast get the basic idea of how OOP works then you can move onto this title and be very successful in learning C++.
What I like most about Robert Lafore's book compared to others I have read is that he also talks about style and sytnax. He talks about setting up your code in a manner that is easy to read and widley used by other programmers so that the newbie to programming won't spend his time learning code only to be using a wierd or unusual style thats hard to read in comparison with other programmer's styles. I also enjoy how he takes a new concept and begins teaching you in a simple example so you can see how JUST that one concept works and then shows you how it works in the big picture. I also agree with Lafore that learning C is not nessisary to C++ and am glad to finally see an expierenced programmer who feels the same way I do about it.
In short. If you have programmed before and understand OOP but just want to move on to C++ then I would recomend this book for getting started in the syntax and console commands. If your a totally newbie then read up a little more before considering this title.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best C++ books ever written!!
Review: I learned C++ by using this book's 2nd edition back in 1998. I went to the bookstore the other day, found out that there was the 4th edition, I bought it and started reading it.
Now I finished the entire book, I think it is even better than the 2nd edition. It covers the ANSI C++, and some concepts of UML and UP. It not only teaches the syntax of ANSI C++, but also teaches the CONCEPT OF OOP, which in my opinion is more important than knowing all the syntax of C++. For anyone, I mean anyone, novice or expert C++ people, this would be the first C++ I would ever recommend! Thanks, David Zuo.
Rating:
Summary: The *best* C++ text there is.
Review: I teach CSci at a community college in Minnesota. I've used Robert Lafore's texts before in my classes and currently use this text in my C++ class. It is an outstanding book. Robert Lafore explains difficult concepts better than any other programming language author. In particular, his illustrations are *extremely* useful in understanding important C++ concepts. His writing style is easy to understand and the programming examples are excellent. There are few typos or mistakes in his books and the end of chapter exercises are very good. My students uniformly like his book and agree that it really helps them learn a difficult topic. C++ is a very complex programming language. This book is your best ticket to gaining an understanding.
Rating:
Summary: perfect for transition from C to C++
Review: I took several C++ Program In Computing courses while in college, and I must say, this book did a fantastic job of turning the what was then "clear as mud" concepts to something I could understand.
Since those courses, I've learned C and a few other languages, but this book does a fantastic job of introducing OO concepts to a programmer, or a beginner who was otherwise doing procedural programs, or was just starting fresh. Lafore goes over the benefits of OO, and slowly builds on top of concepts throughout the book until you get a good overall understanding of the theory and the practice.
Two things I didn't like about the book:
1. There was very little discussion about doing things the "right way". By this, I mean, Lafore didn't really mention how certain methods of writing programs were less efficient than others. It looks like he was using the best practices in the book, so maybe that would have been overkill, but going a bit more in depth about why to do certain things certain ways would have been nice. While this is a beginner book, it certainly doesn't hurt to have sidenotes of this nature for those interested.
2. While the majority of the code in this book was portable to most platforms, it's still assumed that you're going to be on a Windows plaform, and Lafore uses several Windows-only graphics libraries to illustrate some points. Being a UNIX guy, I would have preferred that he stick to a platform neutral explanation.
Rating:
Summary: Good book
Review: I'm new to C++ and have many books. This is the best book I've read about C++ for beginning/ intermediate level. The author takes the time to explain the material in a very clear manner. The books includes review questions with answers in the back of the book... very helpful. The only thing I could suggest, is to have a website with an interactive questions/ answers to study.
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