Changes to the Fifth Edition

New to this edition of C++ Primer are icons in the margins to help guide the reader. C++ is a large language that offers capabilities tailored to particular kinds of programming problems. Some of these capabilities are of great import for large project teams but might not be necessary for smaller efforts. As a result, not every programmer needs to know every detail of every feature. We’ve added these marginal icons to help the reader know which parts can be learned later and which topics are more essential.

We’ve marked sections that cover the fundamentals of the language with an image of a person studying a book. The topics covered in sections marked this way form the core part of the language. Everyone should read and understand these sections.

We’ve also indicated those sections that cover advanced or special-purpose topics. These sections can be skipped or skimmed on a first reading. We’ve marked such sections with a stack of books to indicate that you can safely put down the book at that point. It is probably a good idea to skim such sections so you know that the capability exists. However, there is no reason to spend time studying these topics until you actually need to use the feature in your own programs.

To help readers guide their attention further, we’ve noted particularly tricky concepts with a magnifying-glass icon. We hope that readers will take the time to understand thoroughly the material presented in the sections so marked. In at least some of these sections, the import of the topic may not be readily apparent; but we think you’ll find that these sections cover topics that turn out to be essential to understanding the language.

Another aid to reading this book, is our extensive use of cross-references. We hope these references will make it easier for readers to dip into the middle of the book, yet easily jump back to the earlier material on which later examples rely.

What remains unchanged is that C++ Primer is a clear, correct, and thorough tutorial guide to C++. We teach the language by presenting a series of increasingly sophisticated examples, which explain language features and show how to make the best use of C++.