[lug] Re: LUG digest, Vol 1 #1299 - 11 msgs

[Bernard Johnston]

<<Message: 10 From: Jeff Walker <jwalker at matchlogic.com> To: 
"'lug at lug.boulder.co.us'"   Subject: RE: [lug] C++ libraries in Linux 
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 09:02:41 -0600 Reply-To: lug at lug.boulder.co.us I 
would shy away from anything written by Schildt. Although not everyone 
agrees, he is considered a poor author. He may have improved over the 
years, but I know the C FAQ used to have a rant about him. He is 
responsible for propagating many bad coding idioms. (most famous is the 
"void main()") His examples are frequently wrong, etc. I haven't see a 
book by him in four years or so, YMMV. Also, thanks for all the STL 
links. Very helpful.
-- Jeff Walker MatchLogic, Inc. jwalker at matchlogic.com 7233 Church Ranch 
Blvd. Voice 1 (303) 222-2105 Westminster, CO 80021 Fax 1 (303) 222-2001 
www.matchlogic.com

 >>

Sorry, I have to politely disagree. I'm a technical author myself and I 
consider Herbert Schildt to be one of the best technical authors I have 
ever come across. He has an almost magical ability to know the proper 
level at which to pitch the subject and to thoroughly cover the subject 
while proceeding neither too quickly nor too slowly.

He is not himself a programmer and probably doesn't write the best code 
imaginable--so what?
I've never met a software engineer who was happy with the code written 
by another one. Writing the best possible code (which of course depends 
ultimately on the problem) is a quality which isn't very important to 
the beginner. Experts typically aren't happy with Schildt, partially 
because he does what they don't want done: reveals the tricks of the trade.

Another very good book is Bruce Eckel's Thinking in C++, newest 
addition, now available online for free at

http://www.mindview.net/Books/TICPP/ThinkingInCPP2e.html