BKBSC2C+.RVW  940530

Academic Press, Inc.
955 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
"Leaping From Basic to C++", Traister, 1994, 0-12-697421-7

I cannot, off the top of my head, recall the famous computer "name" who opined
that anyone who first learned to program in BASIC was thereafter useless as a
programmer.  So the use of BASIC as a stepping stone to C++ is an intriguing,
if somewhat problematic, concept.

The strength of BASIC is that it is an unstructured language, and that it can
be used for "quick and dirty" programs without much overhead.  The problem with
BASIC is that it is an unstructured language, and that modularity, functions
and other necessary aspects of serious programming are not provided for (in
basic BASIC), and very difficult to achieve.  BASIC is, therefore, unsuitable
for teaching advanced programming, and extensive experience with BASIC tends to
teach bad programming habits, in an effort to get around the limitations of the
language.  BASIC is, however, good for teaching the very simplest aspects of
programming.

This book does do quite well at the beginning.  Data types, simple program
structure, statements and operators, and arrays do benefit from the simplicity
of BASIC examples.  However, when I/O streaming, structs, pointers, functions,
object oriented programming, and other advanced topics appear, BASIC fades into
the woodwork.  BASIC doesn't have examples to help introduce these areas.

Overall, this does make a reasonable introduction to C++.  Even those not well
familiar with BASIC (or the version used in the book) may benefit, since the
limitations of BASIC force the material to start slowly and simply.  The
foundation thus laid is helpful as the complexity develops.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994   BKBSC2C+.RVW  940530
 
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