Stroustrup's intro to programming doesn't seem to be theoretically driven. What am I looking for?

[Arnold Itsov]

I have found what seems to be the go-to book on programming, Stroustrup's "Programming: Principles and Practice using C++" (Addison-Wesley 2009, ISBN 978-0321543721). Even it seems to cut corners, concepts which would be crucial to a theoretical approach to the subject.

I am not looking for an Intro which "gets me to do programming" and "gain sufficient knowledge and experience to perform simple useful programming tasks". What is the most hardcore unpopular Intro to programming?

[Arnold Itsov]

Your assistance please. Name your book as well as the one you are most opposed to.

[JLBorges]

Read Stroustrup's "The C++ Programming Language, 4th Edition"
http://www.amazon.com/The-Programming-Language-4th-Edition/dp/0321563840


Ps.: the 2009 "Programming: Principles and Practice using C++" book is superseded by its second edition.
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Principles-Practice-Using-Edition/dp/0321992784

[DexterMorgan]

It cuts corners on what concepts?

[JLBorges]

> It cuts corners on what concepts?

It (Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++) does not cut corners on essentials. However, it does not try to cover everything about C++.

From the preface, 'Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++, 2nd Edition'

This book is for someone who has never programmed before but is willing to work hard to learn. It helps you understand the principles and acquire the practical skills of programming using the C++ programming language. My aim is for you to gain sufficient knowledge and experience to perform simple useful programming tasks using the best up-to-date techniques.
...
This is not the easiest book on beginning programming; it is not meant to be. I just aim for it to be the easiest book from which you can learn the basics of real-world programming. That’s quite an ambitious goal because much modern software relies on techniques considered advanced just a few years ago.

My fundamental assumption is that you want to write programs for the use of others, and to do so responsibly, providing a decent level of system quality; that is, I assume that you want to achieve a level of professionalism. Consequently, I chose the topics for this book to cover what is needed to get started with real-world programming, not just what is easy to teach and learn. If you need a technique to get basic work done right, I describe it, demonstrate concepts and language facilities needed to support the technique, provide exercises for it, and expect you to work on those exercises. If you just want to understand toy programs, you can get along with far less than I present. On the other hand, I won’t waste your time with material of marginal practical importance. If an idea is explained here, it’s because you’ll almost certainly need it.

From the preface, 'The C++ Programming Language, 4th Edition'

In this book, I aim for completeness. I describe every language feature and standard-library component that a professional programmer is likely to need. For each, I provide:

-- Rationale: What kinds of problems is it designed to help solve? What principles underlie the design? What are the fundamental limitations?
-- Specification: What is its definition? The level of detail is chosen for the expert programmer; the aspiring language lawyer can follow the many references to the ISO standard.
-- Examples: How can it be used well by itself and in combination with other features? What are the key techniques and idioms? What are the implications for maintainability and performance?
...
This book assumes that its readers are programmers. If you ask, “What’s a for-loop?” or “What’s a compiler?” then this book is not (yet) for you; instead, I recommend my Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ to get started with programming and C++. Furthermore, I assume that readers have some maturity as software developers. If you ask “Why bother testing?” or say, “All languages are basically the same; just show me the syntax” or are confident that there is a single language that is ideal for every task, this is not the book for you.