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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-14T03:34:51+00:00

I’m a Perl5 programmer for 7 years and I’m trying to learn C++ now.

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I’m a Perl5 programmer for 7 years and I’m trying to learn C++ now.
Some of the C++ syntax is hard for me to understand and to think in C++ way.

For example:
In Perl, you can mix the data in the arrays

@array = (1,"string",5.355);

You can assign any value to a scalar variable:

$var = 1;
$var = "string";
$var = \$reference_to_scalar;

There are many examples.

A friend of mine recommend me the book “Thinking of C++” by Bruce Eckel, but I haven’t any C background and it’s hard for me to understand some things.

So my question is – could you recommend me a book for this situation. I don’t want to learn C. I understand OOP (I’m getting more familiar with C++ oop aswell), I understand the point of the pointers (and some arithmetic) and references (widely used in Perl).

I don’t need manuals for dummies (what is int, bool, double, if, while), I just need a direction how to learn C++ from the perspective of a Perl programmer, because I’m sure that there are many like me.

Thank you in advance.

EDIT: Thank you for all the recommended books and the answers, I will try with “Accelerated C++”. I will start from the beginning and try to change my mindflow to C++. I have added the “beginner” tag.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    “C++ For Perl Programmers” is a pretty specific request. Given that Perl abstracts away more of the machine than C++ does, I think that a good way to start would be to forget what you know about Perl and get a regular C++ book.

    For example, it seems reasonable to you that you should be allowed to have multiple data types in an array, because a Perl array is a higher-level construct than just a series of contiguous words in memory. If I were going to go from an array in C++ to one in Perl, I would say that a Perl array is like a C++ array that holds pointers to data instead of data (if that is even true – I am not a Perl programmer so it may not be. Maybe a Perl array is more like a linked list data structure. In any case, you get the idea.) Going backwards, IMO, is not quite the same.

    As far as the book I’d recommend – there are a lot of good ones, so it depends on the style and depth you’re looking for. I think Accelerated C++ is great for ramping up – its thorough and covers a lot of ground without inundating you with the tedious details.

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