The C++11 standard allows programmers to express ideas more clearly, simply, and directly, and to write faster, more efficient code. Bjarne Stroustrup, the designer and original implementer of C++, thoroughly covers the details of this language and its use in his definitive reference, The C++ Programming Language, Fourth Edition.

In A Tour of C++ , Stroustrup excerpts the overview chapters from that complete reference, expanding and enhancing them to give an experienced programmer–in just a few hours–a clear idea of what constitutes modern C++. In this concise, self-contained guide, Stroustrup covers most major language features and the major standard-library components–not, of course, in great depth, but to a level that gives programmers a meaningful overview of the language, some key examples, and practical help in getting started.

Stroustrup presents the C++ features in the context of the programming styles they support, such as object-oriented and generic programming. His tour is remarkably comprehensive. Coverage begins with the basics, then ranges widely through more advanced topics, including many that are new in C++11, such as move semantics, uniform initialization, lambda expressions, improved containers, random numbers, and concurrency. The tour ends with a discussion of the design and evolution of C++ and the extensions added for C++11.

This guide does not aim to teach you how to program (see Stroustrup’s Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ for that); nor will it be the only resource you’ll need for C++ mastery (see Stroustrup’s The C++ Programming Language, Fourth Edition, for that). If, however, you are a C or C++ programmer wanting greater familiarity with the current C++ language, or a programmer versed in another language wishing to gain an accurate picture of the nature and benefits of modern C++, you can’t find a shorter or simpler introduction than this tour provides.

Bjarne Stroustrup (www.stroustrup.com) is the designer and original implementer of C++, as well as the author of Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ (Addison-Wesley, 2009), The C++ Programming Language (Addison-Wesley, 1985, 1991, 1997, 2000, 2013), and many popular and academic publications. Dr. Stroustrup is a University Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University and the holder of the College of Engineering Chair in Computer Science. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, an IEEE Fellow, and an ACM fellow. His research interests include distributed systems, design, programming techniques, software development tools, and programming languages. He is actively involved in the ISO standardization of C++.