Scope of This Handbook

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This handbook is written for people with no previous programming experience, for programmers who know C and want to upgrade their skills to C++, and for those who already know C++ and want to improve their programming style and reliability. You should have access to a computer and know how to use the basic functions such as the text editor and file system.

Computer languages are best learned by writing and debugging programs. Sweating over a broken program at two o'clock in the morning only to find that you typed = where you should have typed == is a very effective teaching tool. This book contains many examples of common programming errors. (They are labeled as broken programs in the text.) You are encouraged to enter these programs into your computer and then run and debug them. This process introduces you to common errors using short programs so you will know how to spot and correct such errors in your own larger programs. (Instructions for obtaining copies of the programs presented in this book are located at the end of this preface.)

Several dialects of C++ are presented:

• A "generic" Unix compiler that should work on most Unix systems

• The GNU C++ compiler, named g+ + (available for most Unix systems ^[1] )

  ^[1] The GNU g++ compiler can be obtained from http://www.gnu.org, or you can contact the Free Software Foundation, Inc., at 675 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, [phone].

• Borland C++ for MS-DOS/Windows

• Microsoft's Visual C++ for MS-DOS/Windows

As far as standard C++ is concerned , there are only minor differences among the various compilers. This book clearly indicates where compiler differences can affect the programmer. Specific instructions are given for producing and running programs using each of these compilers. The book also gives examples of using the programming utility make for automated program production.

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