Can anyone tell me what the stability of the C++ language
definition is currently. I bought Stroustrup first edition and
a number of other texts early on and haven't replaced them with
their second edition versions. I have other texts that deal
with the newer releases of C++ including the ARM.

The question is:
 Is now a good time to recomend an investment in
 Stroustrup second edition for a friend or is there
 another text edition around the corner?

thx
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In article <C4v9wo.2su@da_vinci.it.uswc.uswest.com> tdean@makedustuswest.com (Tony Dean) writes:
|I bought Stroustrup first edition and
|a number of other texts early on and haven't replaced them with
|their second edition versions.

Don't replace them -- by now these texts have become irreplacable antiques.
Hermetically seal them under glass in a controlled atmosphere for posterity.

Just don't make the mistake of trying to program from them --
because they do not describe C++ as defined and practiced today.

In article <1993Apr05.195814.26763@microsoft.com> jimad@microsoft.com
(Jim Adcock) writes:

|> In article <C4v9wo.2su@da_vinci.it.uswc.uswest.com> tdean@makedustuswest.com (Tony Dean) writes:
|> |I bought Stroustrup first edition and
|> |a number of other texts early on and haven't replaced them with
|> |their second edition versions.

|> Don't replace them -- by now these texts have become irreplacable antiques.
|> Hermetically seal them under glass in a controlled atmosphere for posterity.

|> Just don't make the mistake of trying to program from them --
|> because they do not describe C++ as defined and practiced today.

On the other hand...

Many compilers still don't implement templates.  And the Stroustrup
first edition is the *only* text I've seen that even mentions
generic.h.  So maybe you should still use it anyway.

A more paranoic approach (but maybe more realistic) would be to use
both the first and the second edition of Stroustrup.  Anywhere they
disagree would be something to avoid, as being non-portable (half a
smiley).
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