Summary and Advice
Dear reader, congratulations on finishing this book. Hopefully, by now, you are familiar with the C++ language, the standard library, and various C++ standards basics and features. Learning C++ is no small task. But, it is an achievable and rewarding task. My goal was to present a language and standard library backbone, something every aspiring C++ developer should know.
Where to go from here? I will recommend a few resources and books I feel are essential for every C++ professional.
The go-to Reference
The go-to reference
for the C++ language and the standard library is the cppreference at:
https://www.cppreference.com
It is the number one resource when it comes to C++ and the library. It is an exceptionally well written, community-driven, wiki-style C++ reference packed with theory and examples. It is even said the cppreference is unofficial C++ documentation. The cppreference should be your number one reference resource.
Other Online Resources
The Standard C++ Foundation has a C++ super FAQ page at:
https://isocpp.org/faq
This resource
has some great articles for C++11, C++14, and the language in general. It also features a list of nice C++ blogs.
Other C++ Books
StackOverflow maintains a list of C++ books called “The Definitive C++ Book Guide
and List” at:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/388242/the-definitive-c-book-guide-and-list
From this collection, I highly recommend the following three books:
“The C++ Programming Language” by Bjarne Stroustrup
“Effective C++” by Scott Meyers
“Effective Modern C++” by Scott Meyers
I think every C++ Developer should read these three books. Scott’s books are what interested me in this wonderful language in the first place.
Advice
To quote my good friend and a fellow C++ developer: “C++ is a fountain of constant learning.” So, do not get intimidated by the language complexity in the beginning. C++ is a tool first and foremost. Take from it what you need at first. You do not need to know every language feature or every language quirk to be a successful developer or an engineer. Get a 9 to 5 C++ job. Aim to be around knowledgeable people. Get a mentor and learn from existing, elegant C++ frameworks. Attend C++ conferences if able. And enjoy yourself. Being a C++ developer is a good career choice. It gets you places, pays well, and is rewarding in so many ways.