Hey, I'm starting my third year of my software engineering degree. I figured its time I bought myself an STL book since I'm starting to use the STL more and more often. I went on Amazon to check up some books. However, there were a few books that got greats reviews. So, I search past topics here to see which ones were recommended, and they were pretty much all mentioned in one post or another. So, I would like some input. I'm looking for more of a reference book, something that will explain to me how to properly use the STL, how it works, etc.. and not a book that explains what a link-list, vector,.. are. I've already taken my data structures course so I dont really need to go over that again. Any help would be appreciated. I'm looking for to buy one book (possibly two if they aren't that expensive maybe, 100-150$CDN total, will have textbooks to buy shortly so money will be a problem). Here are the ones that have the best reviews: STL Tutorial and Reference Guide: C++ Programming with the Standard Template Library by David R. Musser (Author), Gillmer J. Derge (Author), Atul Saini (Author) Generic Programming and the STL: Using and Extending the C++ Standard Template Library by Matthew H. Austern (Author) C++ Standard Template Library, The by P.J. Plauger (Author), Alexander A. Stepanov (Author), Meng Lee (Author), David R. Musser (Author) The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis (Author) I would like the book to cover the Ansi Standard STL. Some of those books are quite old so not sure if they are dated. If someone has a diff book that I didnt mention, then feel free to suggest it. Thanks alot for your time! Edit:Btw, truly sorry if I posted in the wrong forum. Let me know which is the right one and I will post in it next time. Thanks!

While I can't comment on the others, I would like to give a very enthusiastic recommendation to "STL Tutorial and Reference Guide" by Musser, Derge, and Saini. When I was looking for a book to fill in the missing gaps of my STL knowledge, I found that book was exactly what I was looking for.

Quote:Original post by Telastyn
Josuttis' is the oft recommended book. It is a good reference for all of the little nuances of the Library. I don't care for the layout of the actual function reference [it's split across the book, rather than in an appendix or dedicated area] but the reference areas are good, even if the layout is less than ideal for a dedicated reference.

Seconded. Quite a few highly respectable people on these boards say it's the definitive book to have.

Josuttis

Quote:Original post by AzCoder
Josuttis

See whether you can get a second hand copy if you're on a tight budget.... although there might not be many people wanting to sell.

If you're going to buy one book, buy Josuttis. If you have the cash, though, consider buying the Austern book too. It's a great source for perspective on generic programming as it relates to C++... it takes a much more theory-based, yet just as useful, approach to the STL than Josuttis.

For reference, I just use http://www.sgi.com/tech/stl/

Effective STL is good.

I also recommend "Modern C++ Design: Generic Programming and Design Patterns Applied". Not strictly about STL, but very template-heavy. It helped me understand the how/why's of STL a bit better.

Edit: Fruny is right - "Modern C++ Design" book does require some familiarity with STL and templates in general. Pick this up when you want to stretch your brain and knowlege a bit more.

[Edited by - JoshM on July 19, 2005 7:10:27 PM]