Reviews for C++ for Game Programmers (Charles River Media Game Development)

1. Readable, Deep and Useful

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, November 12nd, 2009

   
   I would recommend this book for any working programmer who's focussed on writing fast and stable code, and that should be just about every coder going.
   
   I'm a self-taught, practical C++ programmer, I don't work on games, but I do need to write tight, quick code, and this is where this book scores highly.
   
   The book tackles various C++ aspects, always focussing on performance, and how to go about getting the most out of limited resources. It details the mechanics of what goes on when you use class hierachies, and the 'cost' of various programming approaches, and then goes on to recommend ways of improving performance and avoiding common pitfalls.
   
   I particularly got a lot out of the memory allocation chapter. I had never before thought about the cost of allocating new memory dynamically, or about heap fragmentation, that stuff had always been too advanced, and I assumed that it did not matter too much. The clear and readable explanations spelt out the subtle problems you can get hit by, and how to avoid them. There is source code for a memory manager that helps you incorporate pre-allocated memory pools, a heap walker, and leak tracker code. As I write a ton of stuff with strings, I was exposed to risks I did not even know about.
   
   This is a great book for going from intermediate to advanced, not in terms of C++ elegance, but in terms of practical application. It does not fry your mind with dense, esoteric stuff, it is very down to earth. I found Scott Meyers books impressive, but very much focussed on the C++ language, and reading a Meyers book cover to cover is hard work. This book differs in that it's more about ways to deal with the hidden overhead of C++, and the conversational style of the text was easy and didn't leave me boggling.
   
   My coding has changed radically thanks to this book, I can't recommend it highly enough.
   

2. Essential C++ book

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, June 12th, 2009

   This is one of the best books I've read on C++. Maybe it's one of the best programming books I've ever read. If you know C++ from other books and if you've already wrote a few programs yourself, then this is the best choice to take things a step further.
   
   One of the good things about this book is that it never gets academic. Neither does it get too elaborate. The writer comes straight to the point and manages to explain things without overdoing it.
   
   I can recommend this book to non-C++ and non-game programmers also. There's a lot to learn about the inner workings of memory, compilers, assertions, runtime type information, etc.
   
   One very useful chapter that you don't see often in C++ books is "Dealing with large projects". This chapter contains excellent advice on project structuring and build process optimisation.
   
   Highly recommended!

3. excellent!!!

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, January 12th, 2008

   wow.. agree completely with the poster above.
   
   Im a student in my second year of a computer games development degree.
   
   I feel as though ive just gained a MASSIVE headstart against my fellow students! It almost makes me feel guilty if i dont go and tell everyone i know on my course to get this book aswell!
   
   Full of EXCELLENT advice, and packed full of tips.
   
   Before now i knew the theory, and accepted it, but never really knew ...why??...or how topics actually fitted into the bigger picture. This book answers all those questions, and then arms you with some fantastic tips and tricks to not only understand topics in a game development context (which alone would be fantastic), but also shows you how to wrestle topics to the ground and squeeze every last drop of real-time game efficiency out of them.
   
   The holy grail for game programmers who know some theory but want to explore!
   
   

4. Excellent next step in C++

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, April 12rd, 2007

   I've been a professional coder for eight years now and have just finished a BSc in Games Computing. I recently went for an interview at a Games Development studio and was shocked by how much of the C++ test I didn't know. The majority of C++ books on the market either deal with the 'first 21 days' - then leave you dry - or, they just tackle one specific topic in more depth than one could need.
   
   This book is different. In the first three chapters I learnt more real knowledge about inheritance, references and their performance impacts than ever before. Each subject has so far been tackled clearly and concisely with good code illustrations of each topic.
   
   If only all C++ books were like this one...