C++ Books

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7 comments, last by agentultra 11 years, 1 month ago

I am currently reading C++ Through Game Programming, and since my birthday is tomorrow, I thinking of getting some c++ books, or something of that nature and would like to ask for some recommendations.

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I have not read it yet, though I probably should, people have recommended Design Patterns to me. It teaches OOP designs, however it is quite old, I'm sure that should not be a problem since the concepts still stick. Also, Effective c++ 3rd edition is good, but it was published in 2005 so if you are using C++11 i am not sure if some of the stuff will work (I have not used c++11 so I cannot say). Other than that I would recommend you get books on the stuff you are interested in. One more thing, you really should get a book on the STL.

The C++ Standard Library - A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis is great to have. I don't have the second edition, but the first edition was good, and it's one of the few C++11 books already out there. And you do want C++11, since it has a high adoption rate. It's quite thorough though. You may or may not be interested in that.

What are you looking for exactly? If you want a intro to C++, I highly recommend one of these:

Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++

C++ Primer Plus

C++ Without Fear: A Beginner's Guide That Makes You Feel Smart

Or are you looking for a game programming specific style book?

One more vote for Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++

After you finish it (and by finishing I mean learn it and do all the drills and exercises), I highly recommend The C++ Standard Library by Nicolai Josuttis

"Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example", Koenig.

Followed by other books from the same series when you need them.

Also, I particularly recommend "Beyond the C++ Standard Library: An Introduction to Boost" by Karlsson. It's a really good guide to the less hairy parts of Boost[1] and how to practically apply them to improve your coding.

[1] Boost is a set of utility code, some of which has recently been rolled up into the language standard. They provide a lot of helper functions/classes.

You will be into graphics next correct me if i'm wrong.

The 2nd book I have choose is "Starting out with games & Graphics in c++ (2nd Edition)" by Tony Gaddis.

Why I choosing this book is to review what I learned from "C++ through Game Programming" and go into graphics. It has a small section for videos etc. and answers to most of the questions online like a mini classroom. The First half of the book is same as "C++ through Game Programming" and 2nd half is programming with graphics. displaying graphics and alpha channels, x and o game, a flying bird that drops eggs into a basket, a 3rd person game that makes a toon walk around a map with tile programming and a space invaders type game.

The Library books sound interesting as well. But I'm going to wait to do graphics first.

Hope this helps!

----Kinda a late post---

I forgot to add but after I finish "C++ through Game Programming" I'm going to try and make a mini text game using my old dungeons and dragons books for the rules 3 books that I do own are Player's hand book, Monster manual and Dungeon master guide. I'm sure there are many other types of paperback games out there and it would be interesting to make a small adventure.

I'm sure most of us would agree to apply the skills we learned to make a mini text based game.

Game Coding Complete if you want to work on 3d game engines.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1133776574/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1133776574&linkCode=as2&tag=gamer2creator-20

programming 2d games, if you want to do 2d work on windows/directx ( its a good stepping stone to 3d work )

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/146650868X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=146650868X&linkCode=as2&tag=gamer2creator-20

code complete if you want to learn how to write great code ( as in, easily readable, highly maintainable, and extendable code )

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735619670/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0735619670&linkCode=as2&tag=gamer2creator-20

OpenGL Programming Guide: The Official Guide to Learning OpenGL, Version 4.3

get this if you want to write cross platform 2d-3d games. Release date set for April. ( other books on openGL have problems )

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321773039/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0321773039&linkCode=as2&tag=gamer2creator-20

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// C++ Video tutorials

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo60USYV9Ik

// Easy to learn 2D Game Library c++

SFML2.2 Download http://www.sfml-dev.org/download.php

SFML2.2 Tutorials http://www.sfml-dev.org/tutorials/2.2/

// Excellent 2d physics library Box2D

http://box2d.org/about/

// SFML 2 book

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1849696845/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1849696845&linkCode=as2&tag=gamer2creator-20

I'd suggest Expert C Programming

It's mainly about C, but it does overlap into C++. It's probably the only book on C/C++ that I'd read cover-to-cover. I have other books like Effective C++ (which is also really good) but I use them more as references. Expert C Programming teaches not only the "hows" but the "whys" as well with clever anecdotes and factoids. Well worth the read.

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