Mastering Object-Oriented Design in C++

Rating:
Summary: Excellent treatise for understanding the hows & whys of C++
Review: Dr. Cay Horstmann performs an unparalleled effort in treating the reader to the sometimes arcane ways that C++ operates. I read this book when it was published and make a habit of rereading it through at least once or twice a year. Dr. Horstmann covers C++ under the hood and provides the reader with the understanding of how and why things work they way they do in C++, not just what the features are.

This book was written in 1995 and does not cover all of the advances made in the ANSI/ISO C++ Standard since then (Std C++ Library is the most glaring omission) but his book is still quite valuable today since it shows the reader how the features these advances are based on work under the hood.

I consider this book to be necessary item for any serious C++ developer's bookshelf, along with Dr. Scott Meyers' Effective C++ and More Effective C++. Dr. Horstmann's Practical Object-Oriented Development in C++ and Java is the newer edition of this book, but his coverage of C++ under the hood is superior in Mastering OO Design in C++, probably because the later edition is more of a comparison of the features of both languages, as well as the resultant space limitations.

Rating:
Summary: There are many better books out there.
Review: My school uses this book for an object oriented programming course. 3 years ago, this book would have been considered okay. (This book was published in 1995)

But now, it is outdated and the author does not seem to know about the existence of the STL then, instead, he's promoting his own template library.

The book is relatively cryptic and the layout is extremely poor.

To the book's credit, a relatively wide range of topics is covered. Too bad it's really outdated today.

The verdict? Skip this book, I heartily recommend "Teach Yourself C++" by Herbert Schildt if you are a beginner. If you are already an experienced C++ programmer, there is no reason why you would want to buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Makes easy concepts difficult to understand
Review: The author has a habit of reinventing the wheel, for example instead of "*this" he uses "self".

His programming conventions have also confused many novice programmers. Some have misunderstood his conventions as C++ syntax.

Horstmann's writing are too short to be clear and he does not illustrate them with sufficent sample codes. Usually leaves the reader confused.

Forget about this book, if you wish to learn OO go for Jacobson, if you wish to learn C++ go for Stroustrup.