Product Description

Exceptional C++ shows by example how to go about sound software engineering in standard C++. Do you enjoy solving thorny C++ problems and puzzles? Do you relish writing robust and extensible code? Then take a few minutes and challenge yourself with some tough C++ design and programming problems. The puzzles and problems in Exceptional C++ not only entertain, they will help you hone your skills to become the sharpest C++ programmer you can be. Many of these problems are culled from the famous Guru of the Week feature of the Internet newsgroup comp.lang.c++.moderated, expanded and updated to conform to the official ISO/ANSI C++ Standard. Each problem is rated according to difficulty and is designed to illustrate subtle programming mistakes or design considerations. After you've had a chance to attempt a solution yourself, the book then dissects the code, illustrates what went wrong, and shows how the problem can be fixed.Covering a broad range of C++ topics, the problems and solutions address critical issues such as: *Generic programming and how to write reusable templates *Exception safety issues and techniques *Robust class design and inheritance *Compiler firewalls and the Pimpl Idiom *Name lookup, namespaces, and the Interface Principle *Memory management issues and techniques *Traps, pitfalls, and anti-idioms *Optimization Try your skills against the C++ masters and come away with the insight and experience to create more efficient, effective, robust, and portable C++ code. 0201615622B04062001

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74281 in Books
• Published on: 1999-12-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Aimed at the experienced C++ programmer, Herb Sutter's ExceptionalC++ tests any reader's knowledge of advanced C++ language features and idioms with several dozen programming puzzles and explanations. This is a book that can definitely help bring your C++ class design skills to the next level.

Based on the author's Guru of the Week Internet column, this book poses a series of challenging questions on the inner workings of C++, centring around generic programming with the Standard Template Library(STL), exception handling, memory management and class design. Even if you think you know C++ well, most of these problems will teach you something more about the language and how to write more robust classes that are "exception safe". Don't think this is just "language lawyering" though. The author's explanations stress sound programming principles (favouring simplicity) and idioms (such as the Pimpl idiom for class design that promotes faster compile times and better maintainability, or using "smart" auto_ptr's with STL.) Judging from the range and depth of these examples, Sutter's command of the inner workings of C++ is impressive and he does an excellent job at conveying this expertise without jargon or a lot of theory.

After reading this book, C++ designers will learn several "best practices" at how to write robust, efficient classes that are "exception safe" (meaning they don't throw any handled exceptions and don't leak resources). Chances are you'll gain a better understanding of memory management techniques and working with STL too. For the experienced developer seeking leading-edge knowledge of some of the best ways to use C++, ExceptionalC++ is both a challenging and truly worthwhile source of information. --Richard Dragan, Amazon.com

Topics covered: Advanced C++ programming tutorial, generic programming, tips for string classes, containers and STL, temporary objects, exception-safe code tutorial, virtual functions, class inheritance, the Pimpl idiom, namespaces, memory management, C++ memory areas, overloading new and delete, using smart pointer with auto_ptr, using const, casts and hints for better performance and code maintainability.

John Kwan, Hewlett-Packard
"This book provides more techniques in solving real life problems in C++. The book is very well written and informative."

Dennis Mancl, Lucent
"This book is a very valuable book for a wide range of C++ developers. The great thing about the questions and solutions dealing with exceptions is that they present the most important design considerations for creating *any* C++ class."

Customer Reviews

Seriously good advice for serious C++ users.
An extended and enhanced version of the Guru Of The Week (GOTW) series which Herb Sutter published on comp.lang.c++.moderated, this book details how to write truly solid code, particularly covering exception safety from a transactional viewpoint. It won't teach you C++, but if you know the language inside out, this book may well teach you how to use it to write better code.

As a book on how to improve C++ design and code, this is the best I've come across.

Must have for all professional C++ programmers
Not everything in this book is for the experts; I think even relative novices can get a lot out of this book (maybe not for real beginners though) because it shows best practice in "Do's and Don'ts" along with solid programming guidelines. For those more experienced programmers, there are correspondingly more challenging problems (ones that the novices of yesterday should revisit from time to time). Anyone serious about C++ development should read this.

Fantastic coverage of exception handling
The book is worth the price just for the section on exception handling. Sutter's advice regarding assignment operators is truly unique. Very good indeed.