   c++ Book Trail..Help me out again guys!
  Right, yep it's me again :(Ater my last thread about what language to keep going with, i took the plung, and re-attempted C++..I bought a new book, one that wouldn't get me bored, or be completely over my head - this book was Beginning C++ Game Programming by Michael Dawson. It's a great book, and has re-ignited my desire to actually learn c++..The question is, what book to go for next? The Dawson one ends with writing a blackjack program for the console...so, what sort of book should be next? I've had a look through the Book section, as well as amazon, but as i live a LOOONG way from an decent book store (ours has maybe 3 books on programming..and they are all for Java), i really have to take a plunge when buying a book, and hope its the wrong one (hence my study has quite a few c++ books proping up the desk)..I do own "Progamming Role Playing games using DirectX" (The monster of a book), but I thought it might be a bit too advanced (I've had a flick through, and alot of the stuff is)..is there something in between? Semi-Beginner / Intermediate? Or is it worth just plugging away the monster?I had considered moving on to "C++ for Game Programmers" by Mike Dickheiser, followed by "Game Programming Complete" by Mike McShaffrey...those sound like a good route to go?[Edited by - MyH34DHurtz on April 18, 2010 3:41:23 PM]
  You will not learn C++ from any of those books.You will learn a mix between twenty-year-old C89 and older editions of C++; something that resembles C++ and compiles on some compilers, but is not really C++.Here's the recommended list of books. The authors are or were involved in the language standards committee. Read them mostly in the order listed:# "Accelerated C++" Andrew Koenig and Barabara Moo# "The C++ Standard Library" Nicolai Josuttis# "Effective C++" Scott Meyers# "More Effective C++" Scott Meyers# "Effective STL" Scott Meyers# "Exceptional C++" Herb Sutter# "More Exceptional C++" Herb Sutter   ;Quote:Original post by frobYou will not learn C++ from any of those books.You will learn a mix between twenty-year-old C89 and older editions of C++; something that resembles C++ and compiles on some compilers, but is not really C++.Here's the recommended list of books. The authors are or were involved in the language standards committee. Read them mostly in the order listed:# "Accelerated C++" Andrew Koenig and Barabara Moo# "The C++ Standard Library" Nicolai Josuttis# "Effective C++" Scott Meyers# "More Effective C++" Scott Meyers# "Effective STL" Scott Meyers# "Exceptional C++" Herb Sutter# "More Exceptional C++" Herb SutterReally? Why do you say that these books won't teach me c++? I found that reading some C++ books are VERY boring, and i tend to just put them down, where as C++ books that teach you from the game programming viewpoint are actually interesting..   ;  BecauseQuote:You will learn a mix between twenty-year-old C89 and older editions of C++; something that resembles C++ and compiles on some compilers, but is not really C++.Languages are evolving things (although C++ evolves slower than most). After a while material written about those languages is no longer relevant, and learning from that material is no longer recommended. In a few years, the same will be true of the books frob mentioned -- at least to some extent. However now they are pretty good.Something else to note is that none of the books frob mentioned as "game oriented," and this is because in general "game oriented" books focus more on the "game" stuff -- often leading to a subpar instruction of the actual C++ material or good software development practices. That's why they're not generally highly recommended among people with extensive C++ experience. At least not as vehicles for learning C++ or how to build good software.   