The C++ Programming Language(3rd edition)

The introductory chapters provide an example of a general technique that is applied throughout this book: to enable a more direct and realistic discussion of some technique or feature, I occasionally present a concept briefly at first and then discuss it in depth later. This approach allows me to present concrete examples before a more general treatment of a topic. Thus, the organization of this book reflects the observation that we usually learn best by progressing from the concrete to the abstract – even where the abstract seems simple and obvious in retrospect.

Part I describes the subset of C++ that supports the styles of programming traditionally done in C or Pascal. It covers fundamental types, expressions, and control structures for C++ programs. Modularity – as supported by namespaces, source files, and exception handling – is also discussed. I assume that you are familiar with the fundamental programming concepts used in Part I.

Part II describes C++’s facilities for defining and using new types. Concrete and abstract classes (interfaces) are presented here (Chapter 10, Chapter 12), together with operator overloading (Chapter 11), polymorphism, and the use of class hierarchies (Chapter 12, Chapter 15). Chapter 13 presents templates, that is, C++’s facilities for defining families of types and functions. It demonstrates the basic techniques used to provide containers, such as lists, and to support generic programming. Chapter 14 presents exception handling, discusses techniques for error handling, and presents strategies for fault tolerance.

Part III presents the C++ standard library. The aim is to provide an understanding of how to use the library, to demonstrate general design and programming techniques, and to show how to extend the library. The library provides containers (such as list, vector, and map; Chapter 16, Chapter 17), standard algorithms (such as sort, find, and merge; Chapter 18, Chapter 19), strings (Chapter 20), Input/Output (Chapter 21), and support for numerical computation (Chapter 22).

Part IV discusses issues that arise when C++ is used in the design and implementation of large software systems. Chapter 23 concentrates on design and management issues. Chapter 24 discusses the relation between the C++ programming language and design issues. Chapter 25 presents some ways of using classes in design.