Reviews for More Effective C++: 35 New Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs (Professional Computing)

1. Good, but not as good as its predecessor

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, February 12st, 2007

   A sequel to Effective C++. Unlike the prequel, which got a third edition in 2005, this has only been updated via the addition of footnotes in a few places (my copy is the 22nd printing from 2006), so some of it feels a bit dated: the items on templates and keywords such as explicit and mutable are somewhat rudimentary.
   
   The material is a mixture of items of a similar level to Effective C++, plus some more advanced topics, like how to find out if your object is allocated on the heap or not, how to prevent an object being allocated on the heap, and the mechanics of the object model, about which C++ users (or the authors of C++ books) seem inordinately fond, at least compared to Java users and Smalltalkers. As a result, the more advanced material has slightly narrower appeal than that in Effective C++ - many of the techniques seem more hassle than they're worth.
   
   That said, a good deal of the material is still universally important, such as exceptions and the new-style casts, which were new at the time of publication, but which are no longer considered 'advanced'. By now, though, this material is covered elsewhere, e.g. in the likes of C++ Coding Standards and Thinking in C++, or in modified form in the third edition of Effective C++. The last item in the book, on the use of the STL, has been superseded by the author's own book-length excursion, Effective STL.
   
   There's also a slight difference in format. The items are in general longer than those in Effective C++. For some topics, it works very well. For example, there's a great treatment of writing a 'smart' pointer and using it for reference counting that takes up 60 pages. That entirely merits the extended format. On the other hand, in some places, the book could have done with editing. Meyers' witticisms are welcome as always, but are sometimes a little too chatty, compared to Effective C++, where the writing is tauter.
   
   It's still a pleasure to read, and this has established itself as another C++ must read, but from the perspective of 2007, it's not quite as genre-defining as Effective C++.

2. Superb C++ Book

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, October 12st, 2004

   This is simply an excellent book. There are far too many general C++ text books out there covering every possible thing that can be done in C++ but will little to no help or guidance in picking between them.

   Scott Meyer's book tackles some of the more problematic areas of the language discussing do's and dont's. This is achieved to some part by offering an insight into the C++ compiler and how it processes code. The books goes way beyond this because it covers the most recent changes to the language and how they are supported by the compiler. It even offers help and advice (plus code fragments) in situations when your compiler doesn't yet
   support the latest C++ enhancement. This book is packed with
   information on every page and is a must to have for anyone using C++.

3. Another good 'Effective' book

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, August 12th, 2003

   A more advanced version of Effective C++. The problems covered are trickier (which is why there are 1/3 less topics in a bigger book). The emphasis remains all the same on real world issues.

4. More valuable than the first volume, if possible.

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, February 12th, 2003

   After being a very satisfied reader of the first volume, I bought this second as well. And I'm even more satisfied with this book. There are fewer items than the first volume, but I found they are exactly those items you're looking for after reading a C++ big manual and the first Meyers' book.

   The section on exceptions is a very appreciable collection on exceptions topics, difficult to find elsewhere, unless you're a constant reader of C++ Report (where they held a monthly column on the subject).

   The section on efficiency is a niece and useful read that let you meet some important consideration as the famous 80-20 rule (a.k.a. 90-10 rule, the "make the common case faster" pattern, and so on) or the Lazy Evaluation tecnique (I've used it extensively since I'm involved on big proportions projects that need this kind of savings).
   A special mention goes on the item about the costs of virtual functions, polymorphism and RTTI features. This is about the best account I've found on the subject. The only other one I can think about is Dattatri's in "C++: Effective Object-Oriented Software Construction". You won't believe it, but I've red Dattatri's just a week before I've been specifically asked for this very same topic during an important job interview. Luckily.

   The section on Techniques is a source of pure gems: item after item I've discovered how well and widely these topics can be treated. Some will find they are taken from Coplien's book. And that's true. But here they are expanded and more clearly explained.

   The last section also will bring some knowledge that will prove to be useful whenever you'll be involved in software design. They well add to those on the first volume.

   A very worth buying, and a very worth read, on my opinion.

5. If you program, no matter which language, get this book!

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, October 12th, 2002

   Scott Meyers has a very chatty way of writing, which makes his books very accessible. This is volume certainly no exception.

   I program very little in C++, but I bought this title after a quick read in a bookshop, and found that what he had to say fundamentally has little to do with C++. Okay, so he describes how to do things in a particular language, but what he is really describing is a way of looking at programming.

   I have received no formal programming tuition, and much of what I have learned has come from textbooks. As such, I have picked up a number of habits which aren't entirely beneficial to programming. But I have had no-one explain to me that what I was doing was wrong (or rather, not quite right). Meyer's approach is to get you to look at what you do from a slightly different angle, and the underlying advice he advocates is pretty much language independant.

   But enough of me. Buy this book. And 'Effective C++' as well, and Jon Bentley's 'Programming Pearls' while you're there.