Sams Teach Yourself C++ in One Hour a Day

by Jesse Liberty, Siddhartha Rao, Bradley Jones

In just one hour a day, you’ll have all the skills you need to begin programming in C++. With this complete tutorial, you’ll quickly master the basics, and then move on to more advanced features and concepts. Completely updated for the C++14 standard, with a preview of C++17, this book presents the language from a practical point of view, helping you learn how to use C++ to create faster, simpler, and more efficient C++ applications.

Master the fundamentals of C++ and object-oriented programming
Understand how C++ features help you write compact and efficient code using concepts such as lambda expressions, move constructors, and assignment operators
Learn best practices and avoid pitfalls via useful Do’s and Don’ts
Learn the Standard Template Library, including containers and algorithms used in most real-world C++ applications
Test your knowledge and expertise with exercises at the end of every lesson
Learn on your own time, at your own

No previous programming experience required
Write fast and powerful C++ programs, compile the source code, and create executable files
Learn object-oriented programming concepts such as encapsulation, abstraction, inheritance, and polymorphism
Use the Standard Template Library’s algorithms and containers to write feature-rich yet stable C++ applications
Learn how automatic type deduction helps simplify C++ code
Develop sophisticated programming techniques using lambda expressions, smart pointers, and move constructors
Master the features of C++ by learning from programming experts
Learn C++ features that allow you to program compact and high-performance C++ applications
Preview what’s new in C++17
Contents at a Glance


Part The Basics

Lesson 1: Getting Started

Lesson 2: The Anatomy of a C++ Program

Lesson 3: Using Variables, Declaring Constants

Lesson 4: Managing Arrays and Strings

Lesson 5: Working with Expressions, Statements, and Operators

Lesson 6: Controlling Program Flow

Lesson 7: Organizing Code with Functions

Lesson 8: Pointers and References Explained


Part Fundamentals of Object-Oriented C++ Programming

Lesson 9: Classes and Objects

Lesson 10: Implementing Inheritance

Lesson 11: Polymorphism

Lesson 12: Operator Types and Operator Overloading

Lesson 13: Casting Operators

Lesson 14: An Introduction to Macros and Templates


Part Learning the Standard Template Library (STL)

Lesson 15: An Introduction to the Standard Template Library

Lesson 16: The STL String Class

Lesson 17: STL Dynamic Array Classes

Lesson 18: STL list and forward_list

Lesson 19: STL Set Classes

Lesson 20: STL Map Classes


Part More STL

Lesson 21: Understanding Function Objects

Lesson 22: Lambda Expressions

Lesson 23: STL Algorithms

Lesson 24: Adaptive Stack and Queue

Lesson 25: Working with Bit Flags Using STL


Part Advanced C++ Concepts

Lesson 26: Understanding Smart Pointers

Lesson 27: Using Streams for Input and Output

Lesson 28: Exception Handling

Lesson 29: Going Forward


Part Appendixes

Appendix Working with Binary and Hexadecimal

Appendix C++ Keywords

Appendix Operator Precedence

Appendix ASCII Codes

Appendix Answers

Genres: Programming, Computer Science, Software, Computers, Reference, Nonfiction

Kindle Edition

First published July 8, 2008

About the author

Jesse Liberty has three decades of experience writing and delivering software projects and is the author of 2 dozen books and a couple dozen Pluralsight & LinkedIn Learning courses.

He currently works for CNH writing APIs.
He was a Senior Technical Evangelist for Microsoft, a Distinguished Software Engineer for AT&T, a VP for Information Services for Citibank and a Software Architect for PBS.

He has been a Microsoft MVP for 13 years.

His most recent book is Writing APIs with .NET (Packt 2024)

You can find him at https://jesseliberty.com/find-me

Reviews

[Zahra Dashti · Rating 4 out of 5]

برای کسی که برنامه نویسی به یک زبان شیئ گرای دیگه رو بلده، کتاب خوب و مختصر مفیدی برای یادگرفتن c++ هست که بیشتر موارد لازم برای کار رو پوشش می ده، ولی قطعا کاملترین کتاب در این زمینه نیست.
بیانش خوب و قابل فهم بود، مثال ها هم کاملا واضح بودن.

[Ockert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. All the terminology is very well explained so that a layman can understand. The book gives a very friendly atmosphere, which makes it easier to learn. The examples used in this book is not over the top like most books. It sticks to the basics and do not try to make the exercises too complicated. I wish I had a book like this when I started my programming journey a long time ago. Why do I say this? Well, with the right book, written the right way, by an author that is humble and knows what it is like to "work his way to the top", it makes understanding complicated things easy!

Thank you very much for this very useful book!

[Brian Salehi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book twice (two times complete) and I think that it's the best book for starters or professionals.
The book is highly structured and topics are perfectly ordered.
The practices at the end of each chapter makes sure no one will ever leave that chapter with any doubts.
Almost everything was covered in this book

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reviewing the C++11/C++14 update.

Well, if you want to learn C++, this is the book you need. I taught myself C++ back in 2003 from "C++ How to Program", which is a good book but extremely large and prolix. "Sams Teach Yourself C++ in One Hour a Day" however teaches c++ in details, clearly and objectively. The book has around 800 pages and it is still easy to read and learn. The other great book I recommend should you wish to delve into the world of C++ is "C++ The Practice Of Programming" co-authored by the legend himself, maybe one of the greatest living minds, the C++ creator Bjarne Stroustrup,

If you know C++ before its multiple newer versions ( c++ now follows Java and releases new versions every 3 years maybe to bring youngsters to C++ ), this is a highly recommended book as well which was the use I made of the previous edition which focused on C++11 and now has been updated to C++14.

Siddhartha Rao is a very good technical author and knows C++ very well so he conveys things like polymorphism or operator overloading clearly enough to get you started.

This books covers the language aspects and has a real good dose of STL, which makes it worth the price.

[Andre Garrigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did a crap load of research and ended up settling on Sam's Teach Yourself C++

The research paid off. Before completing this textbook I would have labeled myself a complete beginner. Sam's Teach Yourself C++ quickly brought me up to speed. I would now label myself an intermediate C++ programmer who is ready to pick up a book labeled as "advanced."

One last thing. The "one hour a day" shpeel is utter bullshit. On average, each chapter takes 3-4 hrs to complete. However, I would still recommend this book over any other text. A++

[Muhammad al-Khwarizmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good place to start, but don't finish here. Author does things like using "size_t" without explaining it and writing templates with "typename" and "class" without ever mentioning that they are the same. Of course this cannot be a complete guide anyway: Bjarne Stroustrup himself has said that he only understands part of the C++ standard. Other than that this can get you pretty far in short order. I read it to understand OpenCV guides and of course this has already become a lot easier.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to get (re) acquainted with the language. Nice emphasis on c++11 puts you ahead of the curve. Would have enjoyed a bit more interesting examples and deeper coverage in the later chapters. But then again, that would make it harder to breeze through. Bottom line : a worthy addition to the Sams teach yourself series and recommended for (re) learners.

[Sardar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a bit easier to read than A tour of C++ by Bjarne with the same goal - providing you with a good introduction to C++ language.

I gave it 4 stars because of a few errors and some ill advice. But in general, the book is a good read for a beginner who already knows some other programming language.

Pro's: examples, summaries, language
Con's: C++20 update is a joke. Concepts, threads and modules are barely touched as if the book needed a new cover without much effort.

If you already have spent 10-30 hours on cppreference.com reading about C++ syntax, STL containers/iterators/algorithms, templates, objects & value categories, then you will find little new in this book. Of course, this book is much more accessible than cppreference.

[Kiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've used this book to accompany an Introduction to Computer Science class I teach. In this first class, we only used content from the first half of the book (prior to object-oriented subjects). In general I found the coverage adequate but not outstanding. Some of the ordering of subjects is a bit odd (like introducing variables and then jumping to scope and illustrating it with functions in Lesson 3, without explaining functions because that subject comes much later). I also would have liked more exercises (we always want more exercises!). However, the language is generally clear and students seem to understand it as well.

[Geoffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of the Sam's Teach Yourself series. I read this after reading Sam's Teach Yourself C in One Hour a Day. The book does a great job explaining how C/C++ works, and then transitions over to Object Oriented programming in C++. From the intro to the advanced topics, this book does a great job introducing all the concepts that are used in C++ programming.

[Chris Chang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good rough introduction to C++, but I'll certainly need more reading and practice to feel like I could program in C++ adequately. This is a good introduction to the landscape of C++ and its concepts, though.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great C++ book.

I have been tinkering with C, and although I know it well, I still like to keep sharp and this book was a good help.

Would recommend to get up-to-speed on C++

4.3/5

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot imagine that anyone would ever learn C++ in one hour a day, however the book is wonderfully structured, and a great reference book once you've finished reading it.

[Wallace Obey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always read this book at least once when I’m getting ready for interviews before moving onto advance topics. It’s a great entry level resource! 5/5 ⭐️

[Duip]

2021, 9th Edition.
Incomprehensive.

[Viet Dinh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative Book!