C++ The Complete Reference - 3rd Edition - By Herbert Shildt
also...an adition reference that is necessary for the small nooks and crannies...
The C++ Language - newest edition? - Bjarne Stroustroup
... for using Borland C++ Builder 4 (BUT NOT FOR LEARNING C++) DO get a book specifically for it.
The Dummies book might be a good programming teacher...but it is a terrable to LOOK UP things when you need them....perhaps you'd do better looking for a book used to teach C++ in college for the training book. Especially a book on Data Structures, or Object Oriented Programming using C++ ...
make sure you do NOT try to learn basic concepts AND GUI/Windows programming together...it's ok to mix...say learn a C++ idea...then add it to windows code...but when you learn a new C++ AND a new Windows feature together...it's hard to debug/decouple them. I would make sure you can do the following using a CONSOLE (DOS box) app before trying windows:
1. Use all basic data types: char, int, etc.
2. Console (text) I/O.
3. Write and use classes.
4. Use pointers and dynamic memory.
5. Simple File I/O.
6. Good basic data structures - lists, trees, etc.
7. Use polymorphism (class hierarchies).
8. the STL string, list, and vector class.
Sorry if I overdid it...but I couldn't tell if you were new to C++, new to programming, new to games, etc????
They're great when you need to know a quick fact here and there - especially when you're deciding how to implement things.
