Some companies still put you in front of a whiteboard and ask you to code. BUT, given the amount of coding that's going to Russia, China and India, the hot upcoming jobs are in coding MANAGEMENT, Data Science, Embedded Systems, Sploit management and other high level design categories. Many even smaller companies are now creating a "CDSO" (Chief Data Science Officer) position which in some cases pays in the high 6 figures.
This book is outstanding for the nitty gritty not just of how but WHY we select certain Design Patterns, structures, algorithms, and, in short, solution sets. It is a fun read and if you know any OOP language you'll have no problem with the C++ examples, they are not that advanced, but do make great and unusual points about options in, for example, modifying for efficiency or to avoid "reinventing the wheel" (or as the saying goes, reinventing the flat tire!).
I interview hundreds of prospective coding managers, and I prefer to keep the questions at the 30,000 foot level of this text-- solution strategies, not just coding conventions or syntax. A lot of good people, especially overseas, can code, but very few can adeptly wind through imperative vs. functional, or modular modification vs. untouched APIs that aren't an exact fit to the problem definition.
Everything from sliding puzzles and Sudoku are used by this engaging author to highlight examples not just of solutions but the differences between solution strategy options underlying those choices. The pedagogy is outstanding, as I'm finding with many No Starch titles, and you really remember this author's examples. He doesn't just understand analogy generalization deeply, he uses it adeptly throughout the book. I've found VERY FEW books that even attempt to do this, let alone do it well.
A classic like Code Complete (CC) will give many more of the details that are illustrated in this book, but a triple threat of OOP Demystified, this book, and CC will make your interview, or consulting gigs, go much smoother. If you're considering writing a software book, this is a must read just for the pace, pedagogy and format. NOT a text from the standpoint of "solutions in the back," but great for changing your frame of reference about IT in general and problem solving specifics. Highly recommended.
EMAILER NOTE: If you agree with some other reviewers that C++ is a "bias" you might enjoy Michael L. Scott's: Programming Language Pragmatics, Third Edition-- it is 900 pages and covers problem solving (in general and with specifics) in far more detail, and includes C++, Java, Ada, C# and Fortran in imperative and F#, OpenMP, and Scheme in functional as well as Erlang in concurrent/parallel. Some reviewers took umbrage that the author considers C++ a "real" language, but to be honest, people who code for nuclear plants and jet engines DO use C and C++, and many of them think of scripting languages as kid stuff. This isn't my opinion, just wanted you to understand a lot of the thinking out there. That said, LISP folks look down on C++ folks too in some cases, and circuit designers dealing with ML and Assembler think we're ALL kids!
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Great quality book.Easy to follow, half way through . I like it so far.
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- G MICHAELReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2020
Great book, excellent job by the author
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Kleber Cesar Alves de SouzaReviewed in Brazil on March 10, 2025
Muito esclarecedor.
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