INTRODUCTION
Preface to the Fifth Edition
Learning C++ is an adventure of discovery, particularly because the language accommodates
several programming paradigms, including object-oriented programming, generic programming,
and the traditional procedural programming. C++ was a moving target as the language
added new features, but now, with the ISO/ANSI C++ Standard, Second Edition (2003), in
place, the language has stabilized. Contemporary compilers support most or all of the features
mandated by the standard, and programmers have had time to get used to applying these features.
The fifth edition of this book, C++ Primer Plus, reflects the ISO/ANSI standard and
describes this matured version of C++.
C++ Primer Plus discusses the basic C language and presents C++ features, making this book
self-contained. It presents C++ fundamentals and illustrates them with short, to-the-point programs
that are easy to copy and experiment with. You’ll learn about input/output (I/O), how to
make programs perform repetitive tasks and make choices, the many ways to handle data, and
how to use functions. You’ll learn about the many features C++ has added to C, including the
following:
• Classes and objects
• Inheritance
• Polymorphism, virtual functions, and runtime type identification (RTTI)
• Function overloading
• Reference variables
• Generic, or type-independent, programming, as provided by templates and the Standard
Template Library (STL)
• The exception mechanism for handling error conditions
• Namespaces for managing names of functions, classes, and variables
The Primer Approach
C++ Primer Plus brings several virtues to the task of presenting all this material. It builds on
the primer tradition begun by C Primer Plus nearly two decades ago and embraces its successful
philosophy:
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