This was a series of book written over a few years. C++ was one of the first programming languages I learned back in high school. I went on to use it professionally for a number of years. When C++11 (and subsequently C++14) came out, there were substantial changes in the language but no literature that would cover them in detail. I wrote a series of books to provide this kind of material for developers moving on to the new compilers. The books had separate editions for Visual Studio, GCC, and Clang.

C++11/14 Rocks — Visual Studio 2013 Edition (PDF)

C++11 Rocks — GCC Edition (PDF)

C++11/14 Rocks — Clang Edition (PDF)

What readers said

This is a sample of what people had to say about my books:

This book really rocks. I have a good comparison as in parallel I read Stroustrup’s newest version of “The C++ programming language”. C++11 Rocks is really good as it touches the new concepts at correct level: neither too superficial nor too deep. Just at the level to quickly grasp it. – Michal Rotkiewicz

I bought your C++11 Rocks book a few months back now and I’d love to give a big thank you for that. I’ve been coding confidently and effectively in C++ for around 15 years and yet I’ve somehow ended up finding modern C++ quite confusing. I work in the video games industry so we know what we’re doing and how to get the best out of the software we write. And yet, for me at least, C++ has grown into something really quite monolithic and challenging to fully understand. Your book has helped massively in bringing me up to speed though. So now I’m able to use a sizeable proportion of the new features of C++11 where I’ve come to fully understand their implications. And I’ll keep returning to C++ Rocks it until I’ve fully explored everything the new C++11 has to offer – it’s a solid text that I’ll refer to again and again. - Robert Baker

Just wanted to say what a pleasant surprise your C++11 Rocks book has been! Very clearly and concisely written, with great depth and coverage. I’ve been a full-time C++ developer since 1994, so wasn’t expecting to pick up as much as I have! – Shaun Fielder

Excellent C++11 book! I appreciate the craftsmanship that went into your C++11 Rocks book. This is the perfect reference for all the new features that went into the language. – John Shaffstall

Thanks again for the book! I find myself referring to it frequently as I try to integrate the new C++11 features into my daily work. I can’t imagine how many hours you spent working out all of the idiosyncrasies in the VS2010 implementation but those are hours I get to save! - Angel Marquez (@DebugMonkey)

It’s exactly what I needed: I’m a seasoned C++ veterean who’s been working with Java since mid-2010. So what I needed is mainly an “in-depth update” on all the new stuff that came with C++ 11, and I don’t have the time (or the inclination) to read all through Stroustrup’s 4th edition. And your book just fits that bill :-) - Philipp Leibfried

What I like about the C++11 Rocks book is that its relatively short, getting right to the new new C++11 material. Despite this, it includes just the right amount of background material in a couple places that really need it. It’s a very well balanced book. - Tony Di Croce

I was looking for a good way to get introduced to C++11 - and quickly. Your book has been very helpful. Coming from C++03 I both needed a detailed explanation of the new features and also a good insight into the new way of thinking about, and attacking, the problems I was faced with. I loved the good price and the quick access to the book. I also like the fact the book is still in development and you are active on twitter - it really gives a face to the author. I also dig the idea that it targets subsystems like gcc and Visual Studio. Thanks man! – Mads Ravn

I picked up a copy of Alex’s book, and he has done some amazing work! For those of you who find yourself short on time, but need to know what’s new and keep current this book has it all. It’s a great time saver, and the organization of the material makes it a great companion reference. It covers template changes, the new class features including the changes related to constructors and inheritance, and the changes made for Unicode support and defining custom suffixes in C++11. It also covers concurrency and the use of thread-local variables. I haven’t finished it all, but it is well worth the small investment for the work he has summarized!! – Jay D. Campbell