C: Recommended Reading:Depth & dark corners, Analysis & design

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C: Recommended Reading

Resources for further study.

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Thinking in C: Foundations for Java & C++ Chuck Allison (a

, by

of this book and also available at ). This is a

course including lectures and slides in the foundations of the C

Language to prepare you to learn Java or C++. This is not an

exhaustive course in C; only the necessities for moving on to the

other languages are included. Additional language-specific sections

introduce features for the C++ or Java programmer-to-be.

Recommended prerequisite: some experience with a high-level

programming language, such as Pascal, BASIC, Fortran, or LISP

(it's possible to struggle through the CD without this background,

but the course isn't designed to be an introduction to the basics of

programming).

General C++

The C++ Programming Language,rd edition by Bjarne

Stroustrup (Addison-Wesley 1997). To some degree, the goal of the

book that you're currently holding is to allow you to use Bjarne's

book as a reference. Since his book contains the description of the

language by the author of that language, it's typically the place

where you'll go to resolve any uncertainties about what C++ is or

isn't supposed to do. When you get the knack of the language and

are ready to get serious, you'll need it.

C++ Primer, 3 Edition by Stanley Lippman and Josee Lajoie

(Addison-Wesley 1998). Not that much of a primer anymore; it's

evolved into a thick book filled with lots of detail, and the one that I

reach for along with Stroustrup's when trying to resolve an issue.

Thinking in C++ should provide a basis for understanding the C++

Primer as well as Stroustrup's book.

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Thinking in C++

C & C++ Code Capsulesby Chuck Allison (Prentice-Hall, 1998).

This book assumes that you already know C and C++, and covers

some of the issues that you may be rusty on, or that you may not

have gotten right the first time. This book fills in C gaps as well as

C++ gaps.

The C++ StandardThis is the document that the committee

worked so hard on for all those years. This is not free,

unfortunately. But at least you can buy the electronic form in PDF

for only $18 at www.cssinfo.com.

My own list of books

Listed in order of publication. Not all of these are currently

available.

Computer Interfacing with Pascal & (Self-published via the

Eisys imprint, 1988. Only available via ). An

introduction to electronics from back when CP/M was still king

and DOS was an upstart. I used high-level languages and often the

parallel port of the computer to drive various electronic projects.

Adapted from my columns in the first and best magazine I wrote

for, Micro Cornucopia (To paraphrase Larry O'Brien, long-time

editor of Software Development Magazine: the best computer

magazine ever published they even had plans for building a robot

in a flower pot!) Alas, Micro C became lost long before the Internet

appeared. Creating this book was an extremely satisfying

publishing experience.

Using C++(Osborne/McGraw-Hill 1989). One of the first books

out on C++. This is out of print and replaced by its second edition,

the renamed C++ Inside & Out

C++ Inside & Out

(Osborne/McGraw-Hill 1993). As noted,

actually the 2nd edition of Using C++ The C++ in this book is

reasonably accurate, but it's circa 1992 and Thinking in C++ is

C: Recommended

817

intended to replace it. You can find out more about this book and

download the source code at .

Thinking in C++, st edition(Prentice-Hall 1995).

Black Belt C++, the Master's Collection

, Bruce Eckel, editor (M&T

Books 1994). Out of print. A collection of chapters by various C++

luminaries based on their presentations in the C++ track at the

Software Development Conference, which I chaired. The cover on

this book stimulated me to gain control over all future cover

designs.

Thinking in Java2nd edition (Prentice-Hall, 2000). The first edition

of this book won the Software Development Magazine Productivity

Award and the Java Developer's Journal Editor's Choice Award in

1999. Downloadable from .

Depth & dark corners

These books go more deeply into language topics, and help you

avoid the typical pitfalls inherent in developing C++ programs.

Effective C++(2nd Edition, Addison-Wesley 1998) and More

Effective C++(Addison-Wesley 1996), by Scott Meyers. The classic,

must-have texts for serious problem-solving and code design in

C++. I've tried to capture and express many of the concepts from

these books in Thinking in C++, but I don't fool myself in thinking

that I've succeeded. If you spend any serious time with C++ you'll

end up with these books. Also available on CD ROM.

Ruminations on C++by Andrew Koenig and Barbara Moo

(Addison-Wesley, 1996). Andrew worked directly with Stroustrup

on many aspects of the C++ language and is an extremely reliable

authority. I've also found the incisiveness of his insights to be

refreshing, and have learned much from him, both in print and in

person, over the years.

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Thinking in C++

Large-Scale C++ Software Design John Lakos (Addison-

, by

Wesley, 1996). Covers issues and answers questions you will

encounter during the creation of big projects, but often smaller ones

as well.

C++ Gems Stan Lippman, editor (SIGS publications, 1996). A

selection of articles from The C++ Report.

The Design & Evolution of C++ Bjarne Stroustrup (Addison-

, by

Wesley 1994). Insights from the inventor of C++ about why he

made various design decisions. Not essential, but interesting.

Analysis & design

Extreme Programming Explained Kent Beck (Addison-Wesley

2000). I love this book. Yes, I tend to take a radical approach to

things but I've always felt that there could be a much different,

much better program development process, and I think XP comes

pretty darn close. The only book that has had a similar impact on

me was PeopleWare (described below), which talks primarily about

the environment and dealing with corporate culture. Extreme

Programming Explained talks about programming, and turns most

things, even recent "findings," on their ear. They even go so far as

to say that pictures are OK as long as you don't spend too much

time on them and are willing to throw them away. (You'll notice

that this book does not have the "UML stamp of approval" on its

cover.) I could see deciding whether to work for a company based

solely on whether they used XP. Small book, small chapters,

effortless to read, exciting to think about. You start imagining

yourself working in such an atmosphere and it brings visions of a

whole new world.

UML Distilledby Martin Fowler (2nd edition, Addison-Wesley,

2000). When you first encounter UML, it is daunting because there

are so many diagrams and details. According to Fowler, most of

this stuff is unnecessary so he cuts through to the essentials. For

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most projects, you only need to know a few diagramming tools,

and Fowler's goal is to come up with a good design rather than

worry about all the artifacts of getting there. A nice, thin, readable

book; the first one you should get if you need to understand UML.

The Unified Software Development Process Ivar Jacobsen,

Grady Booch, and James Rumbaugh (Addison-Wesley 1999). I went

in fully prepared to dislike this book. It seemed to have all the

makings of a boring college text. I was pleasantly surprised only

pockets of the book contain explanations that seem as if those

concepts aren't clear to the authors. The bulk of the book is not only

clear, but enjoyable. And best of all, the process makes a lot of

practical sense. It's not Extreme Programming (and does not have

their clarity about testing) but it's also part of the UML juggernaut

even if you can't get XP adopted, most people have climbed

aboard the "UML is good" bandwagon (regardless of their actual

level of experience with it) and so you can probably get it adopted.

I think this book should be the flagship of UML, and the one you

can read after Fowler's UML Distilled when you want more detail.

Before you choose any method, it's helpful to gain perspective from

those who are not trying to sell one. It's easy to adopt a method

without really understanding what you want out of it or what it

will do for you. Others are using it, which seems a compelling

reason. However, humans have a strange little psychological quirk:

If they want to believe something will solve their problems, they'll

try it. (This is experimentation, which is good.) But if it doesn't

solve their problems, they may redouble their efforts and begin to

announce loudly what a great thing they've discovered. (This is

denial, which is not good.) The assumption here may be that if you

can get other people in the same boat, you won't be lonely, even if

it's going nowhere (or sinking).

This is not to suggest that all methodologies go nowhere, but that

you should be armed to the teeth with mental tools that help you

stay in experimentation mode ("It's not working; let's try

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Thinking in C++

something else") and out of denial mode ("No, that's not really a

problem. Everything's wonderful, we don't need to change"). I

think the following books, read before you choose a method, will

provide you with these tools.

Software Creativityby Robert Glass (Prentice-Hall, 1995). This is

the best book I've seen that discusses perspective on the whole

methodology issue. It's a collection of short essays and papers that

Glass has written and sometimes acquired (P.J. Plauger is one

contributor), reflecting his many years of thinking and study on the

subject. They're entertaining and only long enough to say what's

necessary; he doesn't ramble and bore you. He's not just blowing

smoke, either; there are hundreds of references to other papers and

studies. All programmers and managers should read this book

before wading into the methodology mire.

Software Runaways: Monumental Software Disasters Robert

, by

Glass (Prentice-Hall 1997). The great thing about this book is that it

brings to the forefront what we don't talk about: how many

projects not only fail, but fail spectacularly. I find that most of us

still think "That can't happen to me" (or "That can't happen again")

and I think this puts us at a disadvantage. By keeping in mind that

things can always go wrong, you're in a much better position to

make them go right.

Object Lessonsby Tom Love (SIGS Books, 1993). Another good

"perspective" book.

Peopleware by Tom Demarco and Timothy Lister (Dorset House,

2nd edition 1999). Although they have backgrounds in software

development, this book is about projects and teams in general. But

the focus is on the people and their needs rather than the technology

and its needs. They talk about creating an environment where

people will be happy and productive, rather than deciding what

rules those people should follow to be adequate components of a

machine. This latter attitude, I think, is the biggest contributor to

C: Recommended

821

programmers smiling and nodding when XYZ method is adopted

and then quietly doing whatever they've always done.

Complexity by M. Mitchell Waldrop (Simon & Schuster, 1992).

This chronicles the coming together of a group of scientists from

different disciplines in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to discuss real

problems that the individual disciplines couldn't solve (the stock

market in economics, the initial formation of life in biology, why

people do what they do in sociology, etc.). By crossing physics,

economics, chemistry, math, computer science, sociology, and

others, a multidisciplinary approach to these problems is

developing. But more importantly, a different way of thinking about

these ultra-complex problems is emerging: Away from

mathematical determinism and the illusion that you can write an

equation that predicts all behavior and toward first observing and

looking for a pattern and trying to emulate that pattern by any

means possible. (The book chronicles, for example, the emergence

of genetic algorithms.) This kind of thinking, I believe, is useful as

we observe ways to manage more and more complex software

projects.

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