Practical C++ Programming is a complete introduction to the C++ language for programmers who are learning C++ or transitioning from C to C++. In a new edition reflecting the latest changes to the C++ standard, this book takes a practical, real-world approach, placing a strong emphasis on coding style and the programming process. Readers learn not only the syntax of C++, but also how to write clear, maintainable code and to design and debug programs in a systematic way. For a hands-on approach to learning C++, this is the book to recommend.

Preface p. xv
The Basics 
What Is C++? p. 3
A Brief History of C++ p. 3
C++ Organization p. 4
How to Learn C++ p. 6
The Basics of Program Writing p. 7
Programs from Conception to Execution p. 9
Creating a Real Program p. 10
Getting Help in Unix p. 22
Getting Help in an IDE p. 22
Style p. 23
Comments p. 24
C++ Code p. 28
Naming Style p. 30
Coding Religion p. 31
Indentation and Code Format p. 31
Clarity p. 32
Simplicity p. 33
Consistency and Organization p. 34
Basic Declarations and expressions p. 35
Basic Program Structure p. 36
Simple expressions p. 37
The std::cout Output Object p. 38
Variables and Storage p. 39
Variable Declarations p. 40
Integers p. 40
Assignment Statements p. 41
Floating-Point Numbers p. 42
Floating-Point Divide Versus Integer Divide p. 43
Characters p. 44
Wide Characters p. 46
Boolean Type p. 46
Arrays, Qualifiers, and Reading Numbers p. 48
Arrays p. 48
Strings p. 49
Reading Data p. 51
Initializing Variables p. 53
Multidimensional Arrays p. 57
C-Style Strings p. 58
Types of Integers p. 64
Types of Floats p. 67
Constant and Reference Declarations p. 67
Qualifiers p. 68
Hexadecimal and Octal Constants p. 70
Operators for Performing Shortcuts p. 71
Side Effects p. 72
Decision and Control Statements p. 76
if Statement p. 76
else Statement p. 77
How Not to Use std::strcmp p. 78
Looping Statements p. 79
while Statement p. 79
break Statement p. 81
continue Statement p. 82
The Assignment Anywhere Side Effect p. 83
The Programming Process p. 87
Setting Up Your Work Area p. 89
The Specification p. 90
Code Design p. 91
The Prototype p. 92
The Makefile p. 93
Testing p. 96
Debugging p. 96
Maintenance p. 98
Revisions p. 99
Electronic Archaeology p. 99
Mark Up the Program p. 100
Use the Debugger p. 100
Use the Text Editor as a Browser p. 100
Add Comments p. 101
Simple Programming 
More Control Statements p. 107
for Statement p. 107
switch Statement p. 110
switch, break, and continue p. 115
Variable Scope and Functions p. 118
Scope and Storage Class p. 118
Namespaces p. 122
Functions p. 125
Summary of Parameter Types p. 138
Recursion p. 139
Structured Programming Basics p. 141
Real-World Programming p. 142
The C++ Preprocessor p. 145
#define Statement p. 145
Conditional Compilation p. 150
#include Files p. 152
Parameterized Macros p. 154
Advanced Features p. 156
Bit Operations p. 160
Bit Operators p. 161
The AND Operator (&) p. 161
Bitwise OR ( ) p. 163
The Bitwise Exclusive OR ([logical and) p. 164
The Ones Complement Operator (NOT) p. 164
The Left and Right Shift Operators ([double left angle bracket], [double right angle bracket]) p. 165
Setting, Clearing, and Testing Bits p. 166
Bitmapped Graphics p. 169
Advanced Types and Classes 
Advanced Types p. 179
Structures p. 179
Unions p. 181
typedef p. 184
enum Type p. 185
Bit Members or Packed Structures p. 186
Arrays of Structures p. 188
Simple Classes p. 191
Stacks p. 191
Improved Stack p. 195
Using a Class p. 197
Introduction to Constructors and Destructors p. 199
Automatically Generated Member Functions p. 204
Shortcuts p. 205
Style p. 206
Structures Versus Classes p. 208
More on Classes p. 211
Friends p. 211
Constant Functions p. 213
Constant Members p. 215
Static Member Variables p. 216
Static Member Functions p. 218
The Meaning of static p. 218
Simple Pointers p. 221
const Pointers p. 226
Pointers and Printing p. 226
Pointers and Arrays p. 227
The reinterpret_cast p. 234
Pointers and Structures p. 234
Command-Line Arguments p. 235
Advanced Programming Concepts 
File Input/Output p. 245
C++ File I/O p. 245
Conversion Routines p. 250
Binary and ASCII Files p. 254
The End-of-Line Puzzle p. 255
Binary I/O p. 256
Buffering Problems p. 257
Unbuffered I/O p. 258
Designing File Formats p. 262
C-Style I/O Routines p. 264
C-Style Conversion Routines p. 266
C-Style Binary I/O p. 270
C- Versus C++- Style I/O p. 272
Debugging and Optimization p. 277
Code Reviews p. 277
Serial Debugging p. 280
Going Through the Output p. 282
Interactive Debuggers p. 283
Debugging a Binary Search p. 287
Interactive Debugging Tips and Tricks p. 298
Runtime Errors p. 299
Optimization p. 301
How to Optimize p. 306
Case Study: Inline Functions Versus Normal Functions p. 308
Case Study: Optimizing a Color-Rendering Algorithm p. 308
Operator Overloading p. 310
Creating a Simple Fixed-Point Class p. 310
Operator Functions p. 315
Operator Member Functions p. 324
Warts p. 326
Full Definition of the Fixed-Point Class p. 326
Floating Point p. 337
Floating-Point Format p. 337
Floating Addition/Subtraction p. 338
Multiplication and Division p. 339
Overflow and Underflow p. 340
Roundoff Error p. 340
Accuracy p. 341
Minimizing Roundoff Error p. 342
Determining Accuracy p. 342
Precision and Speed p. 343
Power Series p. 344
Advanced Pointers p. 347
Pointers, Structures, and Classes p. 348
delete Operator p. 350
Linked Lists p. 351
Ordered Linked Lists p. 354
Doubly Linked Lists p. 357
Trees p. 360
Printing a Tree p. 364
The Rest of the Program p. 364
Data Structures for a Chess Program p. 367
Advanced Classes p. 371
Derived Classes p. 371
Virtual Functions p. 378
Virtual Classes p. 383
Function Hiding in Derived Classes p. 385
Constructors and Destructors in Derived Classes p. 385
The dynamic_cast Operator p. 388
Other Language Features 
Exceptions p. 393
Adding Exceptions to the Stack Class p. 394
Exceptions Versus assert p. 400
Modular Programming p. 401
Modules p. 401
Public and Private p. 402
The extern Storage Class p. 402
Headers p. 404
The Body of the Module p. 406
A Program to Use Infinite Arrays p. 406
The Makefile for Multiple Files p. 408
Using the Infinite Array p. 412
Dividing a Task into Modules p. 417
Module Design Guidelines p. 417
Templates p. 419
What Is a Template? p. 419
Templates: The Hard Way p. 419
Templates: The C++ Way p. 420
Function Specialization p. 423
Class Templates p. 424
Class Specialization p. 426
Implementation Details p. 426
Advanced Features p. 429
Standard Template Library p. 432
STL Basics p. 432
Class List--A Set of Students p. 434
Creating a Waiting List with the STL List p. 436
Storing Grades in a STL Map p. 437
Putting It All Together p. 437
Practical Considerations When Using the STL p. 445
Getting More Information p. 446
Program Design p. 448
Design Goals p. 448
Design Factors p. 449
Design Principles p. 450
Coding p. 451
Objects p. 457
Real-World Design Techniques p. 461
Putting It All Together p. 469
Requirements p. 469
Code Design p. 471
Coding p. 472
Functional Description p. 472
Testing p. 477
Revisions p. 477
A Final Warning p. 477
Program Files p. 477
From C to C++ p. 497
K&R-Style Functions p. 497
struct p. 498
malloc and free p. 498
Turning Structures into Classes p. 500
setjmp and longjmp p. 501
Mixing C and C++ Code p. 503
C++'s Dustier Corners p. 504
do/while p. 504
goto p. 504
The?: Construct p. 506
The Comma Operator p. 506
Overloading the () Operator p. 507
Pointers to Members p. 507
The asm Statement p. 508
The mutable Qualifier p. 508
Run Time Type Identification p. 509
Trigraphs p. 509
Programming Adages p. 510
General p. 510
Design p. 511
Declarations p. 511
switch Statement p. 511
Preprocessor p. 511
Style p. 512
Compiling p. 512
The Ten Commandments for C++ Programmers p. 512
Final Note p. 513
Appendixes 
ASCII Table p. 517
Ranges p. 519
Operator Precedence Rules p. 521
Computing Sine Using a Power Series p. 523
Resources p. 529
Index p. 531