who read what c++ books and best learning practices?

[JustBoo]

Uh, maybe that means more C++ programmers are quitting...
;-)

Yeah, they are buying all the gas stations that are now coming on the
market. Nothing like good timing baby....

"Don't think of it as dying," said Death. "Just think of it as leaving
early to avoid the rush." - T. Pratchett & N. Gaiman

 

[Earl Purple]

Total number for posting on Dice.com are:

C/C++: 16,055
.Net: 11,676
Java: 11,531

For those who dislike the character string "C/C++", please feel free to
change the substring "/" to " and ".

There was a general decline in the market about 5 years ago, and it has
picked up again within the last 2 years. Programmers in all languages
had problems finding jobs (at least here in the UK) over the last 5
years.

C++ has lost of lot of programmers who were primarily COM programmers
and have now moved to C# to program in .NET because they see that as
the advance. Some may go CLI but it is generally perceived that C# is
the main .NET language and so people will choose to program in it.

Over here, the best things to learn combined with standard C++ are:

- Investment banking.
- Database skills, i.e. general SQL and RDBMS combined with at least
one specific (preferably Sybase or Oracle. Oracle is used more but as
Sybase uses Transact you can then throw Microsoft SQL Server in with it
too). If you learn Oracle then you learn PL/SQL.

For investment banking, buy John Hull's book. Generally considered the
standard. Can't recommend any particular book right now for the
database skills.

It would also be advantageous to learn some design skills. Learn some
UML - Booch and Yourdon are considered the gurus with regard to OOD.

 

[werasm]

Uh, maybe that means more C++ programmers are quitting...

I assume this is humor . From what I've heard the embedded world are
nowadays more interested in C++, and also the cellphone industry. I've
read some snippets of Imperfect C++ (Mathew Wilson). I tend to agree
with his preface. I have a creative side too and C++ allows me to use
this. I'll use it even after it doesn't give me a job. Java (no offence
to any Java programmers) just simple bores me. I can see the need for
it though. I also think that one good c++ programmer with good
libraries to his disposal, can replace a whole team of Java
programmers. The ways code can be generated, and the almost infiinte
possibility of changing things with the combination of compile time and
runtime polymorphism, is something lacking in other languages. Since C#
and Java has arrived, they have just playing catchup all along. New
names for old things, here and there an abstraction made part of the
language (and abstraction easily creatable in C++ by the use of
imagination).

Many would probably disagree with me, but many won't. I have felt at
times though, that I wanted to pull out my hair when someone elses
pointers mess up my classes. This is happening less often nowadays
though.

IM(h)O, either C++ is here to stay, or it will be replaced by something
(more) similar than C#/Java, but with less ties to C. Yes, I know about
D (just in case you're reading). The C++ standard guys aren't sitting
on their buts either. There are many people married to the language and
instead of critisizing, trying to improving it. I have faith in those.

Kind regards,

Werner

 

[Earl Purple]

I assume this is humor . From what I've heard the embedded world are
nowadays more interested in C++, and also the cellphone industry.

neither of which allow exceptions so it is not standard C++ as we know
it.

The job market has changed a lot though in the last few years. There
are very few jobs now for C++ experts unless you also have business
knowledge. For all the wonderful things boost has done, it has made a
certain type of programmer redundant.

 

[werasm]

neither of which allow exceptions so it is not standard C++ as we know
it.

Many C++ programmers come from pre-exception days anyway. Whether
programming in exception enabled or disabled C++ doesn't make that big
a difference (IMHO). Also, I don't think EC++ will always prohibit
exceptions. Furthermore, e-processors may not require EC++. The other
thing that I can mention, is that the switch from C++ to Java is easier
than visa-versa. This is not because C++ is a bad language, but because
it supports many concepts that Java don't (or at least hasn't when it
started out). From experience, if we have a new Java programmer working
on a C++ project, we usually had a few nasty ones to look for . All
said, many C++ programmers (who started out using C++) program
comfortably in both languages, after learning use of Javalib - as with
any library.

Regards,

Werner

The job market has changed a lot though in the last few years. There
are very few jobs now for C++ experts unless you also have business
knowledge.

I'm in favor of believing that a programmer doesn't have to be a domain
expert. He gathers knowledge of the required domain on the fly. There
must be some sort of inteface (body) between the domain and programmers
though, and this body should be able to understand enough about the
domain and software. Many programmers on the other hand, are good
communicators too (Growing up with OOP and UML). They slot into the
requirements world naturally. They ask: What do you want? not: Why?,
except if they see obvious logic flaws. I do agree with DB
principles/theory being important. I don't deem it that difficult to
learn (I'm not an expert, but have done normalisation and ER on odd
occation). I hear of people who even find it boring after a while -
something they haven't experienced with C++ yet.

For all the wonderful things boost has done, it has made a
certain type of programmer redundant.

How did boost make certain types of programmers redundant?

 

[Phlip]

I assume this is humor .

What if it weren't??

The humor is Herb abused partial data. The number of openings on Dice is a
negative indicator; the number of _unfilled_ positions. Herb assumed a
correlation with the positive data - the total number of C++ positions out
there, filled and unfilled. (Facts on the ground, the global odds of
programming positions becoming vacant is probably very steady, and churned
by many more forces than C++'s quality, so the correlation is probably
indirectly valid...)

Don't get me wrong - I abuse partial data, and humor, all the time.

 

[Ian Collins]

neither of which allow exceptions so it is not standard C++ as we know
it.

That's news to me, I allow them in my projects.

The job market has changed a lot though in the last few years. There
are very few jobs now for C++ experts unless you also have business
knowledge. For all the wonderful things boost has done, it has made a
certain type of programmer redundant.

Last time I wanted to recruit an embedded C++ developer, it took me 6
months to find one. So I'd change 'business' to 'domain', where
embedded is a domain.