
} // good to go - ingve
http://scottmeyers.blogspot.com/2015/12/good-to-go.html
======
hendzen
I work at a C++ shop, and out of all the hardcopy programming references we
have floating around, the most common, by far, are copies of all of Scott
Meyer's books.

When 'Effective Modern C++' was released, we formed a reading group to convene
bi-weekly to discuss an item from the book. His works have been an invaluable
resource to us.

While I am sad to hear that he will no longer be involved in the C++
community, I look forward to seeing what he does next.

------
hollerith
A good example of why I am opposed to HN's "original title" policy. (Namely,
the title of this submission is no help for deciding whether you might want to
click on it.)

~~~
mfisher87
I always thought it should be a simple requirement to _include_ the original
title (and to avoid editorializing) like :

Scott Myers "retiring from C++" (OT: "} // good to go")

~~~
cm2187
The domain of the website which I always look at gives you a strong hint.

~~~
pka
If you already know the website. If you don't care about C++ or this guy's
blog you will have wasted your time.

~~~
cm2187
I am not a C++ programmer but I still know Scott Meyers. The URL is pretty
explicit.

------
TeMPOraL
Wow. Best wishes to Scott in his new endeavors and a _huge_ thank you. His
books transitioned me from someone just playing around with C++ to an actual
programmer. The breadth of topics covered, as well as detailed rationale
behind every advice given, has profoundly impacted _all_ my programming,
regardless of language, and dare I say, even the more abstract engineering-
thinking skills.

I still have paper copies of those books and lend them to people who are
learning C++.

------
shahbazac
In the post he says that the C++ training market is bustling.

I'm an experienced java guy looking to get in person C++ training. Hopefully
something which moves quickly through the basics and addresses advanced
concepts in memory management, concurrency and other low level topics.

Anyone have recommendations? The web is full of listings for HOTT, Learning
Tree, GlobalKnowledge style mega training companies. Are they actually worth
the $3k-$5k they charge? I'm afraid it will be a mediocre programmer droning
on for 5 days in front of a power point.

~~~
petke
From my perspective it better and cheaper to spend a few weeks reading a well
written C++ book, by one of the big names in the field. Rather than make due
with some average guy who teaches C++.

I wouldn't recommend any book written before 2012, simply because the language
changed a large amount with the C++11 standard. Its like a different language.

I also wouldn't recommend any book that starts off by teaching low level C
first, only to get to high level STL last. Its better and more productive to
do it the other way around. If you learn C first, you will learn a style that
is hard to break out of. You want to learn to program C++ the right way, piece
by piece, from the start.

"Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ (2nd Edition)" by Bjarne, is a
good book that teaches it the right way around.

~~~
Redoubts

      > "Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ (2nd Edition)" by Bjarne
    
      > Paperback: 1312 pages
    

Good lord. Is there a more concise way to do this?

~~~
jfim
Mind you, it's a learn programming book and doesn't assume prior programming
experience; you can skim over a lot of material if you already know how to
program. See the table of contents at
[http://www.stroustrup.com/PPP2_TOC.pdf](http://www.stroustrup.com/PPP2_TOC.pdf)

~~~
jacquesm
C++ would be a terrible choice as a first language.

~~~
alkonaut
On the other hand if you don't do C++ _first_ , you inevitably become pretty
turned off by it once you try it. It has some neat qualities in the small
(zero cost abstractions etc) but in the large with package/module management
it's a horrible experience if you are used to Java/C#/Python/Python or even
Node. I have a hard time picking up C++ because I'm spoiled by other
languages.

~~~
jacquesm
C++ has plenty of good sides (I've been using it since 'cfront', which makes
me wonder who would downvote my comment that it isn't a good first language, I
think I have enough experience in it (and other languages) by now to make that
call), but the learning curve is extremely steep compared to say python.

Which makes me wonder what the very best beginners programming language is.

~~~
alkonaut
For a first lamguage I think kids should use something instantly rewarding.
Something that lets you write gui:s or hack minecraft etc. It should be
something that lets you accomplish things quickly but still teaches good
practices.

If you are a first year CS _student_ it's different. Then you need a few langs
- One functional, one OO, one low level, at least.

I did Haskell/Java/C which I think was great, but 20 years later I'd choose
F#/C#/C (or even Rust).

------
mabbo
An astounding career. One wonders where the language itself might have gone
but for the efforts of this one man.

I'm absolutely thrilled to get to see what he does next.

~~~
insulanian
Probably some functional language. I think I was seeing related tweets from
him.

------
WalterBright
There's a good reason Scott is at the top of the C++ world. He's the hardest
working C++ person I know, and the most committed to perfection and delivering
the best value to his clients and customers. All of us in the C++ world owe
him a large debt of gratitude.

~~~
HankB99
I don't know about hardest working, but certainly most effective (and no pun
intended.) I got more out of his books than any others, possibly except for
"The Unix Programming Environment" and "Unix Network Programming." And while
the latter were technically very interesting, Meyer's books did more to make
me a better developer.

------
braythwayt
Scott’s writing about C++ profoundly affected the way I approached C++ and
every programming language I’ve approached since.

Thank you, Scott.

------
SwellJoe
I don't enjoy working in C++ much, and haven't spent significant time working
with it, but found _Effective C++_ really good and helpful back when I was
working on a codebase that was being converted from C to C++.

I wonder if he'll move onto another language, or do something else entirely
different. He doesn't say...

~~~
p4wnc6
I agree. I don't like C++ much and I feel some very strong, objective
arguments can be made that it is often not the right tool for many of the jobs
that it is chosen for. And yet, _Effective C++_ was one of the pivotal
development books I read, and has affected the way I think about programming
in any other language or tool that I use.

~~~
flakiness
Yeah, the writing style of the Effective C++ was so influential that there
were bunch of "Effective" books follow. Effective Java, Effective Ruby,
Effective JavaScript...

This influence is invisible, but possibly the most important impact he made so
far. Looking forward to what's coming next.

------
sjm
Effective C++ was one of the most purely useful programming books I've come
across. I no longer actively use C++ but it stays with me. Thank you Scott.

P.S. Is the cartoon character referred a defender of the secrets of Castle
Greyskull? I must know...

Edit/P.P.S: For others interested:
[http://scottmeyers.blogspot.fr/2014/09/cppcon-hair-
poll.html](http://scottmeyers.blogspot.fr/2014/09/cppcon-hair-poll.html)

------
bcoates
Scott Meyers' C++ books weren't just a great guide to the language, they were
my first exposure to the idea of programming as a craft.

Before that there was just appeasing the angry demon in the compiler or having
the right result; after there was a bigger picture of doing things the right
way that would have good results beyond the next trial execution.

~~~
bethling
I'm the same way. Until someone loaned me a copy of Effective C++, I simply
hacked code. The best practices in that book opened my mind a great deal, and
really started me down the path to developing software and building systems.
Now I'm the one handing junior developers my copy of the book to read, and
hopefully helping them in the same way.

------
vinceyuan
Title: _} // good to go_

The last paragraph: _" What's next?," you may wonder. ... The topmost entry?
Stop trying to monitor everything in the world of C++ :-)_

Sounds like he will dig into Golang.

I learnt a lot from _Effective C++_. Thank you, Scott Meyers.

~~~
namelezz
Sounds like he will dig into Rust. If he was into GC language like Golang, he
would have been interested in Java.

~~~
sfk
I don't see how that follows. Consultants like Bruce Eckel have moved from C++
via Java to Python.

------
sridharpoduri
thanks for sharing your expertise and the great memories Scott. Your books
were clearly influential on a generation of developers on writing good,
concise C++ code. Cannot wait to see what you do next.

------
alva
Thank you Scott.

You were a great help whilst I was starting to learn C++

