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

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 35 Ratings

Correct, high quality but overhyped - 2009-02-15
Reviewer Rating:
I think there are two aspects of programming. One is technical--how to write correct, efficient programs; the other is style--how to write easy to understand, easy to maintain and well-structured and, if possible, elegant and aesthetically appealing code.

Unless absolute performance is critical(as in system programming), I think style is often more important than technical. And in the real world, in the application programming realm, a programmer only encounters a non-trivial and highly technical situation once in a blue moon.

Beginner programmers often lack the panorama view of what programming is all about and woo the books that emphasize the technical aspects of programming, because that is all they know.

This book (and also its sequel) is, however, only emphasizing the technical parts of programming, which is fine. And I fully appreciate the rights that any one could write about anything. And in fact, this book is very high quality.

My point is that this little book may not be as important or useful as people would like to believe, at least in my opinion. If money is no concern to you, by all means, go ahead and buy this volume, you will enjoy it.

A necessary book for a professional C++ coder - 2007-06-20
Reviewer Rating:
Just finished it. It may not be so apparent at first, but definitely you need it to find how to write a "perfect" C++ code.
Of course, before reading this book, several intermediate books demand reading, such as "Effective C++", "More Effective C++", "Effective STL". Some system programming book may also need to be read. Otherwise, you may have no idea why you need this book.

Learn through puzzles - 2008-06-17
Reviewer Rating:
This book and exceptional c++ series are the best book series, I have ever read. Its language and presentation of material is exemplary. I learned a lot from this book and suggest to anyone to leverage his/her knowledge.

Good book for people looking for insight into how to write great c++ - 2009-05-15
Reviewer Rating:
Great book for people who are looking to learn more about writing great C++. I recommend it.

This book is excellent - 2008-07-27
Reviewer Rating:
I had some experience with C++. After reading this book, I am a far better programmer. The book is truly exceptional in that it offers you an array of topics, each one being a self contained section. So one need not start from the beginning and work their way to the end. They can select the topic of interest, and read directly there. It does assume a large amount of c++ knowledge (extensive familiarity with OOP and the STL). But if you have that, this book will truly improve the quality of your code.

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