Can one still use old C++ books to learn programming?

Question

I found Ivor Horton\'s Beginning C++ from 1999 in a book shelf, and I was wondering if it\'s to outdated to be usefull. I allready know some C++, but I\'d like to have book

Answer 1

The 4th edition of the best C++ book has been just published: The C++ Programming Language, 4th Edition. It contains all the new techniques as well as the new C++11 standard.

Answer 2

The 1998 book is a giant pile of crap. Don't even think about using it. It's "C with Classes with Microsoft-specific libraries which were bad then and worse now". Even ignoring the massive language changes (many of which impact even beginners) from C++11, it would still be a giant waste of your time.

The chapter list is full of OLE automation and ActiveX controls- not one mention of the Standard library. Burn it before it infests you.

Answer 3

Short answer: No. Old books contain outdated programming techniques, which create bad code in the current programming environment

Answer 4

I would not learn C++ from any book that predates the C++ 11 standard. Ideally, you would lean the C++ 14 standard, as that completes the changes that started in C++ 11. Developing in C++ has changed dramatically since 1999. The C++ 11 standard has ushered in a new way of writing C++ called Modern C++. C++ 11 changed the language so dramatically, that Bjarne Stroustrup the creator of C++ writes:

C++11 feels like a new language: The pieces just fit together better than they used to and I find a higher-level style of programming more natural than before and as efficient as ever.

But beyond this, why would you ever want to learn something using a resource you found laying around? Your time is valuable. Treat it that way. Use the best learning resources you can find. A good use of your time is to first spend the time to find the resource the best enables you to learn.