Pill #2

Effective C++: Prefer consts, enums and inlines to #defines

Long story short, avoid #defines where you can. I don't really use them much but it's great to know why not to use them and what the better alternatives are.

C++ Coding Standards: Compile cleanly at high warning levels

I'm guilty of not compiling cleanly, but I am taking a stance to make sure I do from this point forward. Mainly I've had unused variables, so I don't feel too bad.

Design Patterns: Builder

I like this pattern. I have this issue with how I handle my database schema version upgrades and I think this pattern is the key.

Pill #1

Effective C++: View C++ as a federation of languages
This is an interesting point of view. It really changes the way I approach each aspect of C++ and when I should use what convention. I think I need to really read "Design and Evolution of C++" (amazon) to find out how the language got here.

C++ Coding Standards: Don't sweat the small stuff
This item title is a little off. It should be more like, be consistent and know when to draw the line with standards. But, it wouldn't be as short or catchy. I'm a big offender of this because I can be inconsistent and I over analyze what standards I should use. I now know why Herb and Andrei put this one first.

Design Patterns: Abstract Factory (wikipedia)
This is a great pattern. It's really interesting to see so many languages and toolkits use this pattern. It looks like a lot of GUI toolkits use this pattern to enable cross platform capabilities.

By the way, I love how Addison Wesley attaches a cloth strip bookmark to their hardbound books. In my opinion, they are the best software development book publisher.