Learning C++ and Fortran

[ed at eh3.com (Ed Hill)]

> > I'm looking for recommendations for books to teach myself C++ and
> > Fortran. I have Windows and UNIX machines available to me.
> > 
> > I have some programming experience, including an associates in
> > computer science from 1994, but I have always avoided the practice.  I
> > want to change that now.
> > 
> > Thanks for any leads.
> I've found that the C++ Primer by Lippman and Lajoie was an excellent
> book to learn C++, but is slightly dated. We use C++ How to program by
> Deitel at Northeastern. The Deitel books are excellent for a serious C++
> student. And, The C++ Programming Language, by Bjarne Stroustrup is a
> must for any serious C++ programmer. Also, whatever book you get, make
> sure that it describes the ISO C++ standard. 
> http://www.research.att.com/~bs/C++.html


Hi Scott,

For C++, I agree with Jerry that Stroustrup's text is a must-have:

  http://www.research.att.com/~bs/3rd.html

but I think the Deitel books are awful.  The Deitel books tend to have a
very low signal-to-noise ratio -- they're heavy with pictures and fluff,
set in annoyingly large type, take too long to read, and tend to make
lousy reference material later on.

Other good C++ texts include Meyers' "Effective" series (ISBN:
0201924889 & 020163371X) and the O'Reilly "C++ in a Nutshell" (ISBN:
0-596-00298-X) reference guide.

The best "modern" FORTRAN texts that I've seen are Metcalf and Reid's
"FORTRAN 90/95 Explained" (ISBN:0198505582) and Press et al's "Numerical
Recipies in ..." series.  The latter doesn't explain FORTRAN per se but
it does a good job of showing how to use it for scientific computing,
which is, I think, the only excuse for FORTRAN's continued existence.

The GCC compiler suite has included a FORTRAN 77 compiler ("g77") for
many years.  Progress on a free (as in freedom) F90/95 compiler for the
GCC suite has been made recently but it isn't quite ready for regular
use.  So, until recently, one would have to make some sort of purchase
to get an F90/95 compiler.  Luckily, in the last year or so, Intel has
allowed for free (as in beer) downloads of their high-quality F95/90/77
compiler for Linux (on x86) at:

http://intel.com/software/products/compilers/flin/index.htm?iid=ipp_software+compilers_fortran_linux&;

So good luck with your forays into C++ and FORTRAN!

Ed

-- 
Edward H. Hill III, PhD
office:  MIT Dept. of EAPS;  Room 54-1424;  77 Massachusetts Ave.
            Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
email:   eh3 at mit.edu,  ed at eh3.com
URL:     http://web.mit.edu/eh3/
phone:   617-253-0098
fax:     617-253-4464
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