Visual C++ 6 For Dummies w/CD

by Michael I. Hyman and Bob Arnson

Learn C++ the fun and easy way Three good reasons to learn C++: It's available for DOS, Windows, OS/2, Mac OS, and nearly every other operating system out there, making it one of the most portable... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764503723
• ISBN13: 9780764503726
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 7.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Only buy if you want to learn the C++ Language...

As most of the other people who reviewed this book have said DON'T BUY IT TO LEARN HOW TO CREATE WINDOWS APPLICATIONS. It only teaches you how to use the visual C++ program- it only gives you enough knowledge to be able to create and compile programs. It doesn't teach you the 'how' of creating windows applications, using MFC, using Winsock, using ActiveX etc. So what does it do? It attempts to teach the begginer to programming the C++ language. Part 2 of the book (part 1 teaches you how to compile and debug programs in VC++ 6, part 4 is really an appendix with a glossary and some help to fix common errors) makes a good effort at teaching C++. The author's sense of humour brings it down-to-earth enough to be readable without getting in the way too much. However I found that often they moved too fast. They explained the basic concepts well- by relating them to everday things it was easy to get your head around the concepts. The problem was that in some cases they moved too quickly over the practical implementation of these concepts- leaving the poor begginer programmer at the mercy of C++'s cryptic syntax. This happens a lot in Part 3 which teaches the concepts of object oriented programming in C++. The other problem was the jukebox application (the example program used throughout the book) began to get insanely complicated in part 3- giving the reader the urge to skip over it. This book will teach you C++ -if you put enough hard work into it-but to learn to make windows applications you will need to buy another book. It's probably more cost effective to get that Beggining Visual C++ 6 book by Ivor Horton that everyone goes on about which will teach you the whole lot in one go.

A good way to learn C++

I knew how to write C, but not C++ or how to use Visual Studio. As said before, most of the book just makes console apps. But I did learn a lot, working through it, chapter by chapter, in only a month. I didn't think the OOP part was ... bad ... . But the next version could be stronger if the authors would introduce more of Microsoft's extensions. In all the Jukebox applications, the SongNames & ArtistListings have to be done without spaces because the authors didn't use the CString class.

Not too bad for supplemental reading

This book takes the ever interesting and entertaining "for dummies" viewpoint and attempts to make Visual C++ 6.0 and OOP a bit easier to swallow. The book is broken up into 3 main sections, the first a rather handy guide to the many different menus and wizards that Visual C++ 6.0 has to offer. The second section is probably the best part for new programmers, offering good (albeit brief) examples of using C style programming. The writers decided to use an ever increasingly complex Jukebox program for their examples instead of the old and hackneyed "Hello World" programs. The code examples are well documented and the CD included with the book has all of the authors example code as well as some useful demo programs for C++ programmers. Section 3 would have to be the big letdown of the book. Section 3 discusses Object Oriented Programming, and while the authors explanations are clear enough, the authors introduce too much, too fast, which will end up bogging down new programmers in an object oriented nightmare. I do, however, recommend this book as a supplemental guide to new programmers, as the examples and simple language that the book is written in will help students understand the more complex ideals of C++.