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- Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
- Path: nntp.coast.net!torn!nott!emr1!jagrant
- From: jagrant@emr1.emr.ca (John Grant)
- Subject: Re: help on watcom C++
- Message-ID: <DM2zLz.409@emr1.emr.ca>
- Organization: Energy, Mines, and Resources, Ottawa
- References: <4df3d4$i31@bolivia.it.earthlink.net> <4eleph$jd2@donatello.leonardo.net> <DM2B37.Fzp@research.att.com>
- Date: Thu, 1 Feb 1996 05:08:23 GMT
-
- In article <DM2B37.Fzp@research.att.com> bs@research.att.com (Bjarne Stroustrup <9758-26353> 0112760) writes:
- >
- >
- >steveh@fishnet.net writes
- >
- > > In <4df3d4$i31@bolivia.it.earthlink.net>, Anthony Kanner <kanner@earthlink.net> writes:
- > > >I can really learn all of the features of watcom c++ without
- > > >getting the BIG bookset?
- > >
- > > Read the online docs and look at the online examples?
- >
- >There are at least two distinct questions here:
- >
- > How do I learn C++?
- > How do I learn Watcom's C++ program development environment?
- >
- >I suspect the answers to these two questions are not identical.
- >
- >It may be possible to effectively learn what is necessary for true
- >mastery of a program development environment from the online documents
- >and online examples. That is not my personal experience, but it is a
- >claim often made. I find that an hour or two with an experienced user
- >at the early stages of learning does miracles.
- >
- >Most people do not learn C++ well from documentation of language features
- >and short examples. The concepts behind the features are likely to be lost.
- >
- >The key to good C++ programming is not comprehension of individual features,
- >but an understanding of the concepts and techniques that these features
- >were designed to support.
- >
- >In my experience, that understanding best obtained through a combination
- >of reading and experimentation. For the reading part there is no substitute
- >for a good textbook or at least a collection of good papers.
- >
- >By `good' I here imply texts that focus on concepts and the relationship
- >between concepts and code, rather than texts that either gets so into
- >concepts that they are of little use to practical programmers, or texts
- >that focuss of handy hints or language-technical artistry at the expense
- >of fundamental concepts.
- >
- >Reading by itself - without experimentation - is sterile.
- >
- > - Bjarne
-
- (newsgroups trimmed to only c.l.c++)
-
- Can you recommend a book/article/paper which discusses C++
- for C programmers in the following manner:
-
- (a) this is what is wrong with C (syntax as well as particular
- programming problems)
- (b) this is what was introduced in C++ to solve the problem
- (c) this is how it is used to solve the problem
- --
- John A. Grant jagrant@emr1.emr.ca
- Airborne Geophysics
- Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa
-