Ivor Horton's Beginning Visual C++ 2005 (Programmer to Programmer)

Popular author Ivor Horton uses his trademark approachable writing style to provide novice programmers with the basic tools as they learn Visual C++ 2005 Readers will learn how to program in C++ using Visual C++ 2005-without any previous knowledge of C++ More than 35 percent new and updated material covers the new release of Visual C++, and exercises and solutions help readers along the way Demonstrates the significant new features of Visual C++ 2005, providing improved flexibility in developing Microsoft applications in C++

User review
Ivor Horton's Deceit
It would be dishonest to sell this book over the internet without warning the prospective C++ aspirant that one would need at minimum the use of Visual Studio 2005 Standard edition, not the C++ Express edition, with this book.
For this deceit by the author I give it only 1 star, because the book is useless to me without my being able to afford to buy the needed software.

User review
Very readable intro to Visual C++
Excellent, readable, and comprehensive intro to Visual C++ for folks with a smattering of programming knowledge. You don't have to have any C++ experience to use this book, but I do recommend that if you are an absolute beginner to the world of computer programming, you pick up an easier book, say, COBOL for Dummies. I bought this book as a refresher,,.I've done Visual Basic for years and want to go back to something closer to the machine level--I miss the granularity and sheer power of C++ and I'm tired of the slowness of the .Net line and their buggy frameworks. These Horton C++ books exhibit a friendly and relaxed writing style: I find most programming texts too terse and psychotic for my taste. I picked up a more advanced text from Wrox, Professional C++, to get back to the intermediate level later on and I will get the Stroustrup and Myers texts to help me cross the threshhold of advanced C++ development once again.

If you are truly new to C++, don't get discouraged with the many battles you'll encounter ahead,,.the payoff down the line is very great if you can master this Maserati of programming languages. Don't believe all the negative talk you hear about C++,,.most of this comes from folks who lack true mastery of the C++ language and how to use it effectively (C++ goes where C#, Java, and VB will never ever go). The Horton books will take much of the pain away--work quickly through this book and maybe try out the Dietel books simultaneously to get a jump start on your fellow C++ students! Good luck!

User review
Great Book but Boring
This is a great book. However, the chapters are long and can be boring.

Also, if you hate math then you might be a little annoyed at all the simple exercises using basic math. Maybe, if Ivor Horton referenced food instead ,, hmmmm.

One other downer about this book ,,. as you get more advanced you will find yourself working on only one example. The author should have used new examples in each chapter to help the learning experience.

I've found that if you work with one example and someone misses something along the way ,,. they will have difficulty as they progress.

Other than that ,,. this is a great book and very well written. You will definitely learn a lot reading this tutorial.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone!


User review
A book worth not having
I found this book of little or no use. When a buy a book that is this big (1180 pages) you think, `Wow this thing is so big it must be the one.` I am more and more of a mind that programming books that are bloated are just poorly thought out. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

User review
Super book
This book is and has everything you need to learn VC++ and MFC. It takes you through every step to get you on track.