The C++ Programming Language Special 3rd Edition
C++ language. If nothing else, these chapters should convince you that C++ isn’t (just) C and that C++ has come a long way since the first and second editions of this book. Chapter 2 gives a high level acquaintance with C++. The discussion focuses on the language features supporting data abstraction, object-oriented programming, and generic programming. Chapter 3 introduces the basic principles and major facilities of the standard library. This allows me to use standard library
facilities in the following chapters. It also allows you to use library facilities in exercises rather than relying directly on lower-level, built-in features.
The introductory chapters provide an example of a general technique that is applied throughout this book: to enable a more direct and realistic discussion of some technique or feature, I occasion ally present a concept briefly at first and then discuss it in depth later. This approach allows me to present concrete examples before a more general treatment of a topic. Thus, the organization of this book reflects the observation that we usually learn best by progressing from the concrete to the abstract – even where the abstract seems simple and obvious in retrospect.
Part I describes the subset of C++ that supports the styles of programming traditionally done in C or Pascal. It covers fundamental types, expressions, and control structures for C++ programs. Modularity – as supported by namespaces, source files, and exception handling – is also discussed. I assume that you are familiar with the fundamental programming concepts used in Part I. For example, I explain C++’s facilities for expressing recursion and iteration, but I do not spend much
time explaining how these concepts are useful.
