Beginning C++ Through Game Programming

I have bought a number of books to learn computer programming in C++ and C#.I started of with Mike McGrath's book C++ Programming in easy steps (fourth edition). This was fine for the first few chapters, but then the examples wouldn't compile, so I looked around for alternatives.I tried Beginning Programming with C++ for Dummies which comes supplied with a CD for a quick installation of code blocks (for the compiler); but the book got rather theoretical after a few chapters. I eventually settled on two books, namely: Alex Allain's book "Jumping into C++" and Michael Dawson's book reviewed here.The former is very well written and forces you to think for yourself and make up your own programs. Michael Dawson's book majors on the format. Most of us have played computer games of one kind or another - so we understand the format and the reasons for it. This enables me to understand the rationale of C++ in relation to the game requirements and learn a lot aboutC++ programming as I do so.There are cheaper books out there, such as SimpleNeasy Learn C++; or C++ Programming for Beginners; but i need the hand holding I get from Mr. Dawson's book.Most of the books rely on Code Blocks for their compiler. This is free and works fine. The C++ Programming for Beginners book uses a more primitive compiler. Mr Dawson's book uses Microsoft's 'Visual Studio' Express Desktop which is also free and gives you an insight into a really sophisticated compiler which in its professional guise can cost over $12,000.If you are interested in the Visual side of things you could look at Visual C# as illustrated by John Sharp's book "Step by Step with Microsoft Visual C# 2013 which costs about £20.00. This needs a copy of Visual Studio 2013 which costs about £300.00.However, if you join Microsoft's Community you can get this for free for a limited period while you are learning how to use the C# techniques!

Already knew a little c++ ordered this book to get into game coding and half way through my knowledge of c++ has grown great book and a must have to any new people getting into game coding easy to understand and explains each part of code along the way glad I brought it five stars

After starting C programming at Uni I wanted to expand my knowledge to C++.This book is great for a beginner to the C++ language with good use of examples it covers a lot of the basics.It starts slow but builds up after about half way. Covers the absolute basics from the start and leads up to more advanced ideas.It covers the principals of OOP well with Inheritance and Polymorphism present and the language used is very good.Overall this book is great for the absolute beginner and for some one who is familiar with the very basics (like loops and variables as well as setting up the game screen) and wants to learn some new ideas and advance in the language (with pointers and OOP ideas).All the games are text based so don't expect to be creating a wonderful looking 2D or 3D game, this book is to get the reader to understand the fundamentals of C++ with game development examples.If you already know how to program C++ and want to get on with some game development this isn't the book for you, however if your new to programming or C++ and want the basic before cracking on with creating games this book is great.

I learnt a great deal from this book which was well written. Not like the boring lectures I had at school but from someone who really cared if I learned anything.Downloading the code was a piece of cake and in all a pleasant experience. Heartily recommended to anyone who wants to learn C++

The book arrived in great condition and is very helpful for my university course

I mean, I'm no professional in C++, I wouldn't even class myself as an intermediate. I studied VB in college for 2 years so I've got an average grasp of general programming.. I just expected this book to really delve into directories and grasp the essence of creating a simple game engine. I was left pretty disappointed. 80 pages in and we've just started loops... loops?! Come on! let's get started on the game side of things! I want physics creation, collision detection and 2D sprite animation! This was an ideal book for someone who has no concept of coding what so ever. The entire book is just focussed on making EXTREMELY simple console applications. Heck, this isn't to say it's not a useful reference for when I'm stuck with something now and then, If given the opportunity I wouldn't refund it.. It's just not as 'game programming' as I'd expected it to be.

Although I agree with more critical reviews that this is a beginners book & covers only the basics where all of the examples are firmly within the console app, I would question whether there was another way to approach this subject's learning curve. So far so good for us, the exercises are do-able without going too far off topic. This is a huge subject and the book title does say 'Beginning C++' so happy thus far. Onwards and upwards we go.

This book is perfect for begginers. It explains all code detailed, and it's also very comprehensible! If you want to start to program C++ and know a bit about game program, this book is perfect for you!

La curva de aprendizaje puede llegar a ser un poco desafiante, pero no quita que se llega a entender, el pensamiento abstracto, estructurado y ordenado , te da las bases para dar con los siguientes pasos que te dá el libro

I waited until I completed the first 8 of 10 chapters to write this review. I have worked through and typed (fat fingered) in every script so far. This is an exceptional book in general, an exceptional computer science book, and an exceptional self learning book for computer language programming and C++ specifically.1. Truly takes you from the beginning of C++. I am proficient in MATLAB, R, Stata, and a few other languages (historically learned Basic and Fortran in the 1980s) but C++ is my first compiled language of its type and first Object Oriented one too. BTW - C++ is amazing so far, very rich language, but lots to learn!2. The order of the material is excellent and builds on the previous lessons/chapters. The writing is clear and error free. Most importantly, it starts with a short summary of a concept, then you write an enjoyable "game" script (think the old text based games for the most part) and run it. Then the author explains the code with additional Tips, Tricks, Traps, Hints, etc. This three step process with logical groupings shows the care of the thought put into this and likely the benefits of a fourth edition.3. The chapters end with an excellent bulleted Summary, Q&A's, Discussion Questions, and Exercises to expand knowledge.4. I am using Visual Studio Community 2019 as my IDE (which I highly recommend but there is a modest learning curve for VS vs. Code::Blocks IDE which is good too) and so far all the examples (quite a few) have compiled and ran without problem or error, very impressive based on my other book experiences. One note, if you set Warnings to act as Errors during compile in your settings for the compiler then I had only one issue. The use of Enumerations in one example program. I changed these the Enumeration to an Enumeration 'Class' (I am using C++17 with my VS 2019 and the Enum Class is safer and more flexible allowing you to specify types, encapsulating the name in the scope, and use type other than INT - all good things) and the warning went away. I also reset my default to allow compiling with warnings and then Enumerations provided no issue.5. I bought both the paperback book and the kindle book. I call the kindle version (identical to the paperback) up on one of my screens and have Visual Studio on the other. I use this setup to help when I type the code into my VS cpp file and also do quick look ups on the kindle with search feature. I have the paperback open on my desk and have marked it up very extensively with two highlighters and three pen colors to reinforce ideas and concepts and draw attention to items important to me. This system has worked extremely well. I find having a marked up paper copy of the book is well worth the seemingly duplicative expense, at least for me since I learn better this way and can flip back and forth and use the index and TOC too. I still love the kindle version for all it can do to.6. I took the time to write a detailed review because I am so impressed with the book and the detail and care the author took. I really would give it 6 starts if I could. I have five other new (C++17 ready) books on C++ and decided to use this one first after looking through them all. I am very glad I did.Thank you to the author (Michael Dawson) for this fourth edition and sharing his skill with a noobie to C++ like me, to the publisher Cengage for publishing it, and of course to Amazon for carrying it in both paperback and Kindle and making the later a prime item. This was money well spent. Wishing you all good coding!

This is an excellent book for learning C++, it is one of my favourite beginner books.

Not for advance programing

Well, it's a good book. however, if you want to downloads the code as mentions in the book, the link is no longer available. that's the only downside. overall, it's okay.