Bjarne Stroustrup: Advice for C++ Developers

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[rakeeeeeeeee]

Real programmers push the electrons around with their bare hands..

[prithvib]

What an amazingly humble guy for someone who has done so much for Computer Science.

[GregoryTheGrster]

C++ '11 is easily the greatest thing since sliced bread. I'm still learning how to utilize the new features.

[alienc]

everybody joking about his haircut and not talking/focusing about his achievements..this is why we can't have nice things.. I give humanity 20 more years

[richard]

this guy is a genius... who cares what he looks like!

[DaveGouda]

They must have interviewed him before C++11 came out. That was a huge deal.

[tannerbarcelos]

Currently in my last 2 weeks of my c++ course in my 2nd semester in the cs program. Been a pretty good semester. It’s crazy how many topics we skip, though, so you can better use them in the data structures course but my lord is this language hard but so powerful.

[primeminister]

I never get bored listening to him, C++ for life!!!!

[jaybartgis]

I really wish I could have been around in the beginning of computer programming to be a pioneer in it like this guy.

[gobbly]

Though I picked up a lot of C/C++ style prior to really studying the language, I started my formal introduction to the language with a book called C++ Primer, and later bought another called C++ Primer Plus. The former was not a book I would have picked up on my own. It looked small and insignificant (in the first edition at least), but was hands down one of the best introductions I have seen. Bjarne writes his own book(s?) as well, but it is a little more technical.

[lucasreta]

you should read Stroustrup's own, The C++ Programming Language. It contains large amounts of useful information, being what, in my opinion, should be called a complete guide to the language, though its clear that there's no book that can be really a complete guide to C++. I enjoyed it, and I do go back to it sometimes, in search of answers or inspiration, so I highly recommend it.

[herttaaa]

You might want to learn about C++11 to learn why Bjarne has a very valid reason to say that things indeed are going to get much better. It fixes much of the stuff people say they hate about C++. There have been lots of very talented people working on the standard(e.g. from Microsoft, Google, Facebook) and the standard library. C++11 is a very notable milestone for the language, and there is lots of curioisity towards it from wide range of domains among the software industry.

[gobbly]

outdated isn't necessarily bad for someone getting started. Anything backwards compatible is applicable, and the theory rarely (if ever) changes. Typically the core features and functionality are the oldest. I would agree that for an intermediate to expert user, you want an up-to-date reference, but if you are looking to learn a language, I would pick the book that explains the concepts best to you over something that is newer.

[JSBroadcast]

The best book you can get for C++ is Primer. Simply go to Amazon or anywhere and type C++ Primer. I have around 10 C++ books and Primer is the one which has pretty much everything explained. If not, you can always use Google a bit for some extra information.

[devshockgames]

@labobo C++ is is "C with classes" because C++ builds upon C as a super set and the biggest addition is classes

[tooklan]

@CanadianByAccident It doesn't matter what language you learn/know, its how you use it.

[جيمرمصري-قق]

but can u make program to type "hello world"

[jonoisedev]

I’m not even a c++ programmer but i love this guy.

[tooby]

a) Books are very personal, what's good for one person is bad for another.
b) Can you imagine the flame war that would result if he mentioned a book by title.

[stinky]

@FelixMaxwell Problem with Java is that most people don't program it correctly. It's surprising but it was discovered that even some developers at Sun don't understand weak references which is such an important concept to understand in a system that applies GC for all UDTs: it's what helps avoid logical leaks and your average Java application tends to leak a lot. C, on the flip side, tends to have physical leaks when programmers aren't very careful but fewer logical leaks.