Rating: 
Summary: Good Explanations but Not Recommended
Review: As a good Visual Basic programmer I found this author to good at explaining at how to program in C++, but not good enough. I would not recommend this book for several reasons:1. The examples do not use standard C++ Libraries like STL (for those that don't what what STL is, it stands for the (S)tandard (T)emplate (L)ibrary) and rather uses the authors own code in place of the STL, (like vectors and strings) which makes learning a quite a bit harder if you have another compiler like Borlands free C++ compiler, which is much more well known and uses the STL. 2. Because of reason 1, it is harder to compile your programs on another compiler if you can get them to compile at all. The author does not include little things like "using namespace std;" to get vectors to work or using "cstring.h" instead of the authors built in string header files to get strings to work in Borland both of which I looked up on the internet to get them to work and this is just for the first couple of basic things that you learn. If you already have your own compiler be prepared to do some internet searching to get some information on how to make a certain function to work for your compiler or even the right file for it. and 3. The author wastes your time with topics that don't really concern C++ programmers like hardware registers and binary to hexadecimal conversions, which is a topic for more advanced programmers. He also over explains some topics like how to assign something to a variable. The "discussions" he has with the novice programmer are very informative if you need additional help understanding something. The real learning to program in C++ does not even start until you get to page 65 in which you just begin to learn how to use a VARIABLE. If you are considering this book to begin learning C++ be prepared to be stuck with his generic compiler and code library, otherwise get a book that teaches you C++ for your compiler and uses the STL. I would rate this as an "avoid to get" book.
Rating: 
Summary: You get out what you put in
Review: C++ is a very rich language, so there is no way to thoroughly cover all its features in an introductory text. There are two obvious ways to deal with this fact: an author can give very shallow coverage to almost all of the syntax, or he can give deeper coverage to a smaller subset of the language (and I'm ignoring the large number of books that really don't teach programming at all, but just have you connect the dots on a visual interface). For some reason, almost all authors take the first path. After finishing their books, the reader knows three ways to write a loop, five ways to write a branch, and very little about classes or object-oriented programming. In fact, most readers don't finish, because it's too boring to read endless chapters of syntax, without learning to write useful programs. Almost uniquely, Steve Heller takes the second approach. He gives you one way to write a loop, one way to do a branch, and then starts in on classes. I doubt you'll find many other C++ books that have the reader learning sophisticated virtual class techniques before encountering "while" loops. This could be risky, but Steve pulls it off, for two reasons. One is that he is a very good writer, and an expert in the subject. The other is that whenever a tricky concept is discussed, the questions you are likely to have are asked for you --- the narrative of the book contains a concurrent correspondence with an intelligent beginner, who got drafts of the chapters as they were being written, and asked for alternative explanations whenever something wasn't clear to her. The time Steve saves by not discussing redundant language features is used to go into more depth about what it really means to program. A sample project is built from the ground up, with successive chapters adding features and refinement to the basic concept. By the time you finish the book, you'll have an idea of how much work it takes to write a real application, and also the sense of accomplishment you get from doing it. This book isn't for everyone. If you just want to dabble in programming, and let the visual compiler wizards do most of the work, you won't like it. If you aren't willing to put some work and study into it, you won't get as much out of it as you could. But if you want an excellent introduction to programming, and an excellent foundation for intermediate books, you could hardly do better than to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: You get out what you put in
Review: C++ is a very rich language, so there is no way to thoroughly cover all its features in an introductory text. There are two obvious ways to deal with this fact: an author can give very shallow coverage to almost all of the syntax, or he can give deeper coverage to a smaller subset of the language (and I'm ignoring the large number of books that really don't teach programming at all, but just have you connect the dots on a visual interface). For some reason, almost all authors take the first path. After finishing their books, the reader knows three ways to write a loop, five ways to write a branch, and very little about classes or object-oriented programming. In fact, most readers don't finish, because it's too boring to read endless chapters of syntax, without learning to write useful programs. Almost uniquely, Steve Heller takes the second approach. He gives you one way to write a loop, one way to do a branch, and then starts in on classes. I doubt you'll find many other C++ books that have the reader learning sophisticated virtual class techniques before encountering "while" loops. This could be risky, but Steve pulls it off, for two reasons. One is that he is a very good writer, and an expert in the subject. The other is that whenever a tricky concept is discussed, the questions you are likely to have are asked for you --- the narrative of the book contains a concurrent correspondence with an intelligent beginner, who got drafts of the chapters as they were being written, and asked for alternative explanations whenever something wasn't clear to her. The time Steve saves by not discussing redundant language features is used to go into more depth about what it really means to program. A sample project is built from the ground up, with successive chapters adding features and refinement to the basic concept. By the time you finish the book, you'll have an idea of how much work it takes to write a real application, and also the sense of accomplishment you get from doing it. This book isn't for everyone. If you just want to dabble in programming, and let the visual compiler wizards do most of the work, you won't like it. If you aren't willing to put some work and study into it, you won't get as much out of it as you could. But if you want an excellent introduction to programming, and an excellent foundation for intermediate books, you could hardly do better than to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A book that actually tries to teach
Review: First, the disclaimer. I've known Steve, electronically, for about six years. I consider Steve a friend even though we have never met and I have no idea what he looks like. The relationship has been so useful that Steve and I are now negotiating a contract to work on a project together. Second, I've been a C++ programmer for about 10 years. I read this book already knowing C++. I did, though, try to read the book as if I didn't know C++. Steve asked me to review his book. I told him that he would get an honest review from me. This is that review. Learning to Program C++ is a very ambitious book. It attempts -and mostly succeeds - in taking a person unfamiliar with computers (much less programming computers) and gets them to the point where they can actually program a more-or-less real-life application. I have a bias. I want introductory texts to pre-digest material for me. I want the material to be easy. I want lots of motivation and lots of examples. I hate it when the first two chapters of a book are trivial to read and the third chapter is where the book really begins. I'm always looking for the point where the book switches gears and the author starts making ambiguous statements and it requires me to figure out what the hell the author is saying. There is simply too much material in this world to absorb and not enough time. If it isn't clear, I want my introductory textbooks to be easy. This book is a delight. Steve uses the services of an active human reviewer, Sue, to make comments about confusing things. Sometimes the explanations he gives Sue are inadequate. The nice thing, though, is that you know that there is something confusing going on and that you need to sit back and think. As I was reading Steve's book I looked for the places where he switched gears. I found three of them. Remarkably, the third one was a downshift. The book actually got easier after its most difficult part. The first three hundred pages are trivial to read. The second three hundred are a bit harder. The next two hundred are harder still. The last two hundred are a comparative breeze. The hardest 200 pages of that book deal with polymorphism and specifically the envelope/letter idiom that Coplien documents in about 30 pages in Coplien's *Advanced C++*. Steve calls this idiom the manager/worker idiom. Steve does a remarkable job of explaining both the importance of this idiom and how to implement this idiom. Steve attacks this difficult concept from several viewpoints. He even spends a considerable amount of time explaining and implementing reference counting so as to improve both performance and conserve memory. In the last two hundred pages of Learning to Program C++ Heller repeatedly uses the manager/worker idiom to implement a "home inventory" system in which different kinds of information about different kinds of things are stored. In those last two hundred pages Steve demonstrates the real world of programming. He demonstrates how bugs are found, fixed, and introduced in the fixes. He shows just how hard writing even a small application can be. Where does this book fall short? It falls short in very few places. I have some minor quibbles about how he explains and implements the manager/worker idiom. But, I am sure, if I had written such a section some people would quibble about how I explained and implemented it. It's a tough concept. The reader should be aware that I've been using this idiom for nearly five years in my own work and yet I have to review how this slippery concept works every time I need to use it. I found Steve's book was worth reading; it helped to cement the concept. Another quibble might be that Steve decided not to use the Standard Template Library to do things like sorting. It's a minor quibble. If Steve were to introduce concepts from the STL he would likely have had to add another two hundred pages to the book. My biggest quibble with this book is with Appendix A and the back cover: they conflict. The back cover states that you will truly master C++. Appendix A tells you that you will have mastered 10% of C++. Nonetheless, the 10% of C++ covered probably represents 80% of the C++ used on a day-to-day basis by working programmers. Steve has done a superb job of delivering to the reader a working knowledge of the basics of C++ and a very credible job of presenting object oriented programming to novices. If you are a professional programmer and want to learn about run-time polymophism then this book is for you, too.
Rating: 
Summary: too chatty
Review: I had expected a more technical approach in learning C++. This book is way too wordy and chatty. I was disappointed. Though it says that the book should be read by someone who was a sense of humor, it really failed to humor me...
Rating:
Summary: tedious enough to sap your will to live
Review: I hated this book...I really, REALLY hated it.It's so schmaltzy and cloying. Too much insipid conversation betweent he author and his student and waaaaaaay too much reiteration of the same BASIC principles (over and over and over the same point!). It's like shut the hell up and get on with it already! This is a real shame because the author seems to have a lot to teach, however the method leaves a lot to be desired. I guess if you were one of those people who needed some serious hand-holding while learning something then this is what you need. Hundreds of pages of babble. The idea of it was to teach a complete non-programmer how to program using c++. Good idea...poor execution. No, just the thought of this book was enough to make me cringe.
Rating:
Summary: The best so far!
Review: I must admit, this is the best C++ book I've read. Very easy to read and understand. Bottomline - it's the best book for the money!
Rating:
Summary: The best so far!
Review: I must admit, this is the best C++ book I've read. Very easy to read and understand. Bottomline - it's the best book for the money!
Rating:
Summary: Best programming book I have read
Review: I read this book on my own, and felt like I learned more than when I have taken programming classes. It was very clear and easy to follow.
Rating:
Summary: A for "Dummies" book in everything but name.
Review: I think this book is by far the best beginning programming book I have ever seen. Although I had wanted to learn programming in the past, I was always daunted by the weighty tomes I picked up in bookstores or libraries. In Learning to Program in C++, Steve Heller starts out explaining that programming is simply a basic, step-by-step process of problem solving. Each chapter presents problems and programming solutions in small, easy to chew morsels. Always building upon what you know and almost always giving you all of the information required to come to a solution, (aside from the occasional intentional mental exercise which are resolved within each chapter), this book makes the process easy and painless. A very helpful and cute aspect of the book are the e-mails between Steven and Susan. Susan was a beta reader/student for the original edition of this book, "Who's Afraid of C++" and is now Steve's wife. The questions Susan asks are frequently questions that came up in my study, and the answers are presented right there in a venue which allows me to not feel too dumb when the answer is obvious. And, an e-mail to Steve concerning a question I had resulted in a timely and easily understood answer. The CD contains a C++ compiler, programming environment, and all of the source code contained in the book. Everything you need to jump right in. This book is well worth the price for anyone who has wanted to learn programming, but was afraid to start.
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