Good programming books? (C/C++, Java, VB6.0/.NET, etc. Graphics, too)

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NTB

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2001
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What are some good books for these languages? I already have one each for Java (which I'm working on this summer), and VB 6.0, and two for C++ because of the classes I've taken at school, working toward a degree in CS. But I was looking to maybe pick a few others up. Any suggestions?

Also, I'd like to start doing some work with graphics - either OpenGL or DirectX. I have no idea where to start here, since I haven't even touched graphics in school yet; I'd be starting from scratch.
 
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Glitchny

Diamond Member
Sep 4, 2002
5,679
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in the area of graphics its basicly whichever you want... if u want cross platform games then go with openGL and its a little cleaner, otherwise go with directx.. and prima's game devlopment series is good.
 
N

NTB

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2001
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just found this site - gamedev.net. Lots of book reccomendations and other things, so I'm going to spend a little while digging through it.

Also, I went to the bookstore today and looked around their programming sectiond. Needless to say, I saw too many books to list, so I'm still looking for reccomendations from the members here. Oh, and are prices for these books any cheaper online than they would be if I bought them at, say, Borders or Barnes and Noble. or some other big, local bookstore? Some of the ones I saw today were at least $40-$50. Ouch.

I saw a (quite) a few books written about OpenGL & DirectX as well. Most were, naturally, centered on 3D graphics. This is fine, but I'd like to learn 2D as well. Not everything requires 3D, after all.

Nate
 
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igowerf

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2000
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I looked at the Sam's Teach yourself game programming in 24 hours (or days?) and it seemed pretty good. There's a Sam's teach yourself directx programming book too. They seem to be simple, straight forward books to introduce you to the concepts and basic ideas.
 
N

NTB

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2001
5,179
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Originally posted by: igowerf
I looked at the Sam's Teach yourself game programming in 24 hours (or days?) and it seemed pretty good. There's a Sam's teach yourself directx programming book too. They seem to be simple, straight forward books to introduce you to the concepts and basic ideas.
Click to expand...

This is one of the books I was looking at today - game programming in 21 days, iirc. The "24 hours" one was there too, I think. This one did look pretty good, but like I said, the selection was a little overwhelming. And the books aren't cheap. I don't want to spend the money on one and thenfind out it sucks. I have heard good things about other books in the Sam's Teach Yourself xx series on these forums though; maybe I'll give that one a shot.

Nate
 
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Ynog

Golden Member
Oct 9, 2002
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for OpenGL the Red Book (OpenGL programming guide) and the Green Book (OpenGL Programming for the X Window System) aren't bad

If you don't have the C Programming Guide by Kernighan and Ritchie get it. That book never hurts to own.
 
N

NTB

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2001
5,179
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Well, I picked up two of the Sams Teach Yourself series books tonight: Direct X and VB. The DirectX one was what I really (I don't think they make one for OpenGL) wanted, but Borders is running a sale on the Sam's books, so I got the VB for $20. Two books for what some of the single books I was looking at go for. I couldn't pass it up :p Maybe once I get my first paycheck of the summer I'll pick up something for OpenGL.

Keep the suggestions comming :D

Nate
 
M

manly

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
13,320
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I refuse to buy any McMillan Publishing (the parent of SAMS and QUE) titles on matter of principle. Generally speaking, those publishers focus on quantity rather than quality. Although I won't comment on specific titles as I haven't encountered too many lately, good technical books rarely can be distilled into 24 hours or 21 days. Many years ago, I introduced myself to C++ with Jesse Liberty's Learn C++ in 21 Days. While I thought his material and presentation were very good, the copy editing was atrocious. Many of the example programs would not compile due to trivial syntax errors, but it's these types of sloppy problems that would frustrate newbies to exhaustion.

I'm not an ORA fanboy, but I have read (and own) many of their generally good titles. Their overall reputation has tarnished IMO since they publish so much volume nowadays as compared to their earlier years.

For practical CS books, Addison Wesley is my favorite publisher. I think they're even stronger for theoretical CS, but I haven't built up that part of my library outside of a few undergrad courses' reading materials.

A while ago, m0ti posted a software development book thread in this forum, but it garnered little interest except to spark a small debate on Design Patterns:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=33&threadid=885672

Two must-own books for the C++ and Java developer are:
  • Scott Meyer's Effective C++
  • Joshua Bloch's Effective Java
As far as price, of course retail outfits will never be the cheapest. If you think about it, they are essentially book warehouses that allow direct consumer access and free in-store evaluation. Many readers will gladly pay a little extra for that service, but I'm generally cheap and will gravitate towards the most affordable online retailer. bookpool.com was consistently the best when I used to price tech books, although Fatbrain.com wasn't bad when they had special sales and coupons. Fatbrain was long ago acquired by Barnesandnoble.com and I haven't shopped there since. Amazon is pretty much unmatched when it comes to online retail infrastructure and fulfillment, and they are usually competitive on pricing when you factor in free shipping and no sales tax (for now).
 
N

NTB

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2001
5,179
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Wow:Q Thanks for all the information, manly I appreciate it. Like I said in my last post, the two I got tonight are by no means the only ones I intend to buy; once I get back to a more consistent cash flow - work has been the pits lately; I'll get my first good paycheck of the summer in about a week or so - I have every intention of picking up some more. As for whether these books are any good or not, I'll hold off on that until I look through them a little more. I'm certainly not a programming genius, but I'm not a raw n00b in either C++ or VB either. All I was looking to do for the summer was take a break from the more school-oriented stuff and have some fun while I learn these languages. Learn a little about graphics, and maybe make a few simple games. I enjoy doing this kind of stuff, but the drills and assignments we get for class get boring after a while :p All the same, thanks again, and I'll try to keep your points in mind next time I go shopping.

Edit: one of my programming teachers reccomended Design Patterns in class the other day, and I've had a chance to look through it. Seems to be a good book; that'll deffinately be one of the books I get, sooner or later. And probably sooner.

edit2: stupid tags

Nate
 
H

hudster

Senior member
Aug 28, 2000
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cjohnson

Junior Member
Oct 10, 2002
21
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If you already know C (or, really, a language with similar syntax, such as Java) O'Reilly's C++: The Core Language is good. It's a pretty small book and an easy read, and covers the core of the language (hence the name), but doesn't even touch some topics. But I think it's a good introductory book.
 
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mundane

Diamond Member
Jun 7, 2002
5,603
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Another recommendation for the Gang of Four Design Patterns. That single text has been more use to me than all the other Java, C++, Scheme, etc books that we have to buy for courses.
 
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EmperorRob

Senior member
Mar 12, 2001
968
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Practical C++

I have the 2nd edition of "Learn c++ in 21 days" and don't recall any errors in the samples but I haven't read through it in a while.
 
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Armitage

Banned
Feb 23, 2001
8,086
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Well, I've never tried a Sam's book specifically, but in general, I try to avoid books that resemble telephone books. They generally go for quantity, and I prefer something concise. O'Reilly tends to be a mixed bag for me ... their "Learning Python" book sucks, for example. I've been very impressed with New Riders.

A few of my favorite programming language books...

The C++ Programming Language, Strousup, Addison-Wesley - No C++ programmer should be without it!
Python Essential Reference, New Riders - Very concise, reference like book.
Mysql, New Riders - Ok, this one is big, despite what I said above ... but it covers basic SQL, MySQL DB admin, C/PHP and Perl MySQL APIs, and has a complete reference section on SQL/MySQL!
Programming with Qt, O'Reilly, One of the few tutorial oriented books that I like ... although haven't had much time to use it.
 
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manly

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
13,320
4,094
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Bruce Schneier's Applied Cryptography is a modern classic, although not applicable to most coders. I haven't cracked the cover yet. ;)

His non-coding book on security, Secrets and Lies is also a very good read. I have to admit I'm only halfway though this title, but it's very accessible.

Both are 45% off at Bookpool (at least two nights ago when I checked).

EDIT:
If you love O'Reilly and affordability is a concern, you might want to try out their online book service, Safari:
http://safari.oreilly.com/

Basically, you have electronic access to a few titles a month from a vast library for just pennies a day. I've yet to try Safari myself.
 
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