Best book to learn C++ programming (for game development)?

Hello, can I suggest: Deitel & Deitel "C++ How to Program"?
or if your budget is short: "Thinking in C++" can be found on the web for free.

Haven't got any thoughts regarding the choice of book but I do know how to get them links working, use normal html tags like:
<a href="http://www.yourlink.com">your_link_text</a>
For more info see the FAQ.

I really like the C++ Primer Plus you mention by Stephen Prata. In fact, I just ordered the latest version at Amazon, and got it today. It is really well-written and easy to read, and I wholehartedly recommend it.

well i've tried reading a few different c++ programming books,
some were ok , but i found the one i'm currently reading is
beginning c++ through game programming second edition.
and from a true beginner's perspective i find this the best as it shows u examples in minigames which for me was easier to understand on how to use c++ for programming games.
i read through most of the book and went back and started refreshing my memory and started doing the exercises , i find this very easy to learn from.

i would also advise if you are going to learn from one of these books to do the exercises as it helps much more to learn and do the exercises.

I suggest AGAINST Sam's Teach Yourself C++ in 24 Hours. The material is laid out well, but it seemed to me that the author was trying to show the readers that there are multiple ways to use a feature. This is normally not a problem if the author actually explains that they are using a new way of doing something you have already learned. You will just be reading the example text, and see something you do not understand, and have never seen before. You think you know what he is doing, but when you flip back to the chapter where you learned the material, he does not go over the new usage.

Totally frustrating book for me.

i would actually agree with jackofalllanterns
as this was the first book i read on the subject and at first it did seem easy but i didn't really learn much when it came to reading through code and trying to understand it and trying to program something myself.
i would also suggest against going for "sams" if u want to learn for game development

I've read both Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example and Beginning C ++ Through Game Programming and of the two I would recommend the latter.

Anyway here is my experience of both books.

Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example
- This book is highly regarded and is often mentioned to beginners who want to learn C++. Looking at the book reviews on gamedev and amazon and you usually see nothing but praise but I really can't find myself saying the same thing
to be honest with you. Although I read through the whole book I have to say I read over the last few chapters very quickly and didn't really take much in, I just found myself becoming frustrated by the text and wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. One of the aspects that is usually praised about the book is that it makes use of the C++ standard library throughout the book, so you will encounter vectors, lists and other data structures etc as you use the book. Generally this is a good thing but for me not enough to make it an outstanding book.

Some of the problems I found with the book include, some exercises not being too clear in what it was asking you to do, plus no solutions to exercises. Some of the code listing in the book is also quite frustrating to use requiring you to constantly flip back to previous chapters.

Beginning C ++ Through Game Programming, Second Edition
- This is a decent book, again the book makes use of the C++ standard library throughout and is pretty easy to read too. I think it introduced most aspects of the langauge fairly well and you will get to program a few simple games too. There's really not too much to be critical with the book and I personally think it covers what it does quite well. It could probably do with a chapter about using files in my opinion.

This might also be worth a look C++: A dialog.
I haven't read this book before but it seems to recommended by Zahlman who is highly regarded on these boards. Plus the whole book is free and can be read on that website.

Any reason you want to start C++? Learning C++ and Game Development at the same time may be a big jump. If you're stuck on going down that route, I'd actually start with C.

Anyway, my suggestions:

C++ : http://www.amazon.com/C-Programming-Language-Special-3rd/dp/0201700735
C : http://www.amazon.com/Programming-C-3rd-Developers-Library/dp/0672326663/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225336759&sr=1-3

IMO once you've come to terms with C++ and are starting to feel comfortable you should read Scott Meyers' "Effective C++".

It's fairly short and easy to read (good explanations) and it will hopefully break you out of some bad habits and help you write more idiomatic C++ code.

Quote:

Original post by nmjohn Any reason you want to start C++? Learning C++ and Game Development at the same time may be a big jump. If you're stuck on going down that route, I'd actually start with C. Anyway, my suggestions: C++ : http://www.amazon.com/C-Programming-Language-Special-3rd/dp/0201700735 C : http://www.amazon.com/Programming-C-3rd-Developers-Library/dp/0672326663/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225336759&sr=1-3

There is no need to know C in order to learn C++. You can start with C++ directly. My recommendation is in the following order:

C++ Primer Plus
C++ Primer
The C++ Programming Language

Quote:

Original post by popcorn I've read both Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example and Beginning C ++ Through Game Programming and of the two I would recommend the latter. Anyway here is my experience of both books. Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example - This book is highly regarded and is often mentioned to beginners who want to learn C++. Looking at the book reviews on gamedev and amazon and you usually see nothing but praise but I really can't find myself saying the same thing to be honest with you. Although I read through the whole book I have to say I read over the last few chapters very quickly and didn't really take much in, I just found myself becoming frustrated by the text and wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. One of the aspects that is usually praised about the book is that it makes use of the C++ standard library throughout the book, so you will encounter vectors, lists and other data structures etc as you use the book. Generally this is a good thing but for me not enough to make it an outstanding book. Some of the problems I found with the book include, some exercises not being too clear in what it was asking you to do, plus no solutions to exercises. Some of the code listing in the book is also quite frustrating to use requiring you to constantly flip back to previous chapters. Beginning C ++ Through Game Programming, Second Edition - This is a decent book, again the book makes use of the C++ standard library throughout and is pretty easy to read too. I think it introduced most aspects of the langauge fairly well and you will get to program a few simple games too. There's really not too much to be critical with the book and I personally think it covers what it does quite well. It could probably do with a chapter about using files in my opinion. This might also be worth a look C++: A dialog. I haven't read this book before but it seems to recommended by Zahlman who is highly regarded on these boards. Plus the whole book is free and can be read on that website.

Agreed having read both those books myself. Main problem I had with accelerated c++ was the errata which were enough to make me stop reading the book. Beginning C ++ Through Game Programming, Second Edition is a good starting point although you will need to get Stroustroup's book or Lippman's C++ Primer to really see what modern C++ is really capable of.

p.s. Also read the Deitel book for C++ college class and personally thought it was crap for the most part but they got plenty of good exercises in the book and I assume that is why colleges use the book in the first place.
Also, if you are going to be learning C++ for working with legacy code Deitel is alright since they cover all the old ways of programming in C++ which in reality you'll see in alot of game programming books and existing code compared to Stroustroup,Lippman or accelerated c++ where they barely cover the old ways of using C++ i.e. using arrays instead of vectors, not making use of the STL,etc.

p.s. Also you should have a look here since it answers alot of questions you might have on C++:
Learning OO/C++


[Edited by - daviangel on October 30, 2008 1:17:09 AM]

I just finished reading "C++ Without Fear" by Brian Overland as my beginner and introduction to C++ and thought it was well written with good examples and step-by-step explanation of each line of code.

I'm now on chapter 4 of "Beginning C++ through game programming second edition" and I feel I would have been kind of lost without reading the "without fear" book first.

This is coming from someone who has only a little bit of MSBASIC knowledge from back in high school 15 years ago. :)

My all time favorite C++ book is deitel's C++ How to Program. Keep in mind C++ was my first language.