C++ for C Programmers - Softcover

Ira Pohl is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Santa Cruz and holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University. His research interests include artificial intelligence, the C and C++ programming languages, practical complexity problems, heuristic search methods, deductive algorithms, and educational and social issues. He originated error analysis in heuristic search methods and deductive algorithms.

Professor Pohl was formerly a Mackay professor at University of California- Berkeley and a ZWO fellow in the Netherlands. He is the author or co-author of Object-Oriented Programming Using C++, C++ Distilled: A Concise Ansi/Iso Reference and Style Guide, C by Dissection: The Essentials of C Programming, A Book on C: Programming in C, C++ for C Programmers, C++ for Fortran Programmers, C++ for Pascal Programmers, and Turbo C: The Essentials of C Programming, all published by Addison-Wesley.

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The book uses an evolutionary teaching process, with C as a starting point and C++ as a destination. It can also be used by those already familiar with other similar programming languages, such as Pascal, PL/1, or BASIC. The reader can stop and use the language facilities at various points in the text.

This book will get the C programmer up and running in C++ in the shortest possible time. The teaching-by-equivalency method used enables the C programmer to immediately convert existing code to C++. Working code is emphasized. A program particularly illustrative of the chapter's themes is analyzed by dissection, which is similar to a structured walk-through of the code. Dissection explains to the reader newly encountered programming elements and idioms.

C is a general-purpose programming language that was originally designed by Dennis Ritchie of Bell Laboratories and implemented there on a PDP-11 in 1972. C was first used as the systems language for the UNIX operating system. Ken Thompson, the developer of UNIX, had been using both an assembler and a language named B to produce initial versions of UNIX in 1970.

C++, invented at Bell Labs by Bjarne Stroustrup in the mid-1980s, is a powerful modern successor language to C. C++ adds to C the concept of class, a mechanism for providing user-defined types, also called abstract data types. C++ supports object-oriented programming by these means and by providing inheritance and runtime type binding. C++ is increasingly the choice of scientists and engineers in developing scientific software.

This book, intended for use in a first course in C++ programming, can be used as a supplementary text in an advanced programming, data structures, software methodology, comparative language, or other course in which the instructor wants C++ to be the language of choice. Each chapter presents a number of carefully explained programs.

All of the major pieces of code were tested. A consistent and proper coding style is adopted from the beginning and is one chosen by professionals in the C++ community. The code is available at the Addison Wesley Longman Web site (www.awl.com/cseng/titles/0-201-39519-3/).

For the programmer who wants C experience, this book could be used in conjunction with A Book on C, 4th ed. , by Al Kelley and Ira Pohl (Addison-Wesley, 1998). As a package, the two books offer a unique, integrated treatment of the C and C++ programming languages and their use.

This book incorporates a number of important features.

• An evolutionary approach. The C programmer can immediately benefit from programming in C++. Chapter 1, "An Overview of C++ and Object-Oriented Programming," provides an introduction to the use of C++ as an object-oriented programming language. Chapter 2, "Native Types and Statements," reviews the kernel language, which is mostly C with some improvements. Chapter 3, "Functions, Pointers, and Arrays," continues with similarities between functions and complex data types. The middle chapters show how to use classes, which are the basis for abstract data types and object-oriented programming (OOP). The later chapters give advanced details of the use of inheritance, templates, and exceptions. At any point in the text, the programmer can stop and use the new material.

• Teaching by example. The book is a tutorial that stresses examples of working code. Right from the start, the student is introduced to full working programs. An interactive environment is assumed. Exercises are integrated with the examples to encourage experimentation. Excessive detail is avoided in explaining the larger elements of writing working code. Each chapter has several important example programs. Major elements of these programs are explained by dissection.

• Data structures in C++. The text emphasizes many of the standard data structures from computer science. Stacks, safe arrays, dynamically allocated multidimensional arrays, lists, trees, and strings are all implemented. Exercises extend the student's understanding of how to implement and use these structures. Implementation is consistent with an abstract data type approach to software.

• Object-oriented programming. The reader is led gradually to the object-oriented style. Chapter 1, "An Overview of C++ and Object-Oriented Programming," discusses how the C programmer can benefit in important ways from a switch to C++ and object-oriented programming. Object-oriented concepts are defined, and the way in which these concepts are supported by C++ is introduced. Chapter 4, "Classes," introduces classes, which are the basic mechanism for producing modular programs and implementing abstract data types. Class variables are the objects being manipulated. Chapter 8, "Inheritance," develops inheritance and virtual functions, two key elements in this paradigm. Chapter 10, "OOP Using C++," discusses OOP programming philosophy. This book develops in the programmer an appreciation of this point of view.

• C equivalence. Where appropriate, C++ code is given with equivalent C code. This gives the experienced C programmer immediate access to idiomatic C++ code.

• New Java equivalence. At the end of each chapter is a discussion of how the C++ programmer can very naturally and easily begin programming in Java, a language of interest for work on the Internet. The Java programming language borrows ideas from C++ and is designed to run in a machine- and system-independent manner. This makes it suitable for Internet work, such as writing applets for Web pages that are used by browsers. Because Java is an extension of C++, it is readily learned by the C++ programmer.

• ANSI C++ language and iostream. For an existing, widely used language, C++ continues to change at a rapid pace. This book is based on the most recent standard: the ANSI C++ Committee language documents. A succinct informal language reference is provided in Appendix C, "Language Guide." Use of the iostream library is featured in Appendix D, "Input/Output," and STL is featured in Appendix E, "STL and String Libraries."

• Standard template library (STL). STL is explained and used in Chapter 7, "Templates, Generic Programming, and STL," and in Appendix E, "STL and String Libraries." Many of the data structure examples foreshadow its explanation and use. There is a strong emphasis on the template mechanism required for STL and the iterator idiom that STL exploits.

• Industry- and course-tested. This book is the basis of many on-site professional training courses given by the author, who has used its contents to train professionals and students in various forums since 1986. The various changes are course-tested and reflect the author's considerable teaching and consulting experience. The text is the basis for Web-based training in C++ available from www.digitalthink.com

• Exercises. The exercises test and often advance the student's knowledge of the language. Many are intended to be done interactively while reading the text, encouraging self-paced instruction.

• Web site. The examples both within the book and at Addison-Wesley's Web site are intended to exhibit good programming style. The Addison-Wesley Web site for this book contains the programs in the book, as well as adjunct programs that illustrate points made in the book or flesh out short pieces of programs. The programs available at the Web site are introduced by their .cpp or .h names and can be obtained by referencing www.awl.com/cseng/titles/0-201-39519-3/

My special thanks go to my wife, Debra Dolsberry, who encouraged me throughout this project. She acted as book designer and technical editor for this edition. She developed appropriate formats and style sheets in FrameMaker 5.5 and guided the transition process from my other books on C++. She also implemented and tested all major pieces of code.

This book was developed with the support of my editor, J. Carter Shanklin, and editorial assistant, Angela Buenning.

--Ira Pohl
University of California, Santa Cruz