Most C++ programmers are not experts, and they often need preliminary education in various C++ language features, coding techniques, and design patterns before they can be fully productive. Programmers who need this education include:

(1) domain experts who are C programmers, but have only basic knowledge of C++;
(2) new hires who may have an excellent appreciation of C++ from college courses, but have no practical experience;
(3) expert Java programmers who tend to program in C++ the way they do in Java;
(4) C++ programmers with years of experience maintaining programs, but no knowledge beyond the basics required for that task.

What they're missing is the common knowledge among experienced C++ programmers, what it takes to write production-quality programs. That common knowledge is the topic of this book.