Learning C++ is an adventure of discovery, particularly because the language accommodates several programming paradigms, including object-oriented programming, generic programming, and the traditional procedural programming. C++ was a moving target as the language added new features, but now, with the ISO/ANSI C++ Standard, Second Edition (2003), in place, the language has stabilized. Contemporary compilers support most or all of the features mandated by the standard, and programmers have had time to get used to applying these features. The fifth edition of this book, C++ Primer Plus, reflects the ISO/ANSI standard and describes this matured version of C++.
    C++ Primer Plus discusses the basic C language and presents C++ features, making this book self-contained. It presents C++ fundamentals and illustrates them with short, to-the-point programs that are easy to copy and experiment with. You'll learn about input/output (I/O), how to make programs perform repetitive tasks and make choices, the many ways to handle data, and how to use functions. You'll learn about the many features C++ has added to C, including the following:
• Classes and objects
• Inheritance
• Polymorphism, virtual functions, and runtime type
   identification (RTTI)
• Function overloading
• Reference variables
• Generic, or type-independent, programming, as provided by
   templates and the Standard Template Library (STL)
• The exception mechanism for handling error conditions
• Namespaces for managing names of functions, classes, and
   variables

Chapter 1: Getting Started
Chapter 2: Setting Out to C++
Chapter 3: Dealing with Data
Chapter 5: Loops and Relational Expressions
Chapter 6: Branching Statements and Logical Operators
Chapter 7: Functions: C++'s Programming Modules
Chapter 8: Adventures in Functions
Chapter 9: Memory Models and Namespaces
Chapter 10: Objects and Classes
etc.

Stephen Prata teaches astronomy, physics, and computer science at the College of Marin in Kentfield, California. He received his B.S. from the California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Stephen has authored or coauthored more than a dozen books for The Waite Group. He wrote The Waite Group's New C Primer Plus, which received the Computer Press Association's 1990 Best How-to Computer Book Award, and The Waite Group's C++ Primer Plus, nominated for the Computer Press Association's Best How-to Computer Book Award in 1991.