Good C++ isn't that far from high-level languages. Look at the bullet points here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh279654.aspx http://msdn.microsoft.

Good C++ isn't that far from high-level languages. Look at the bullet points here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh279654.aspx http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh279654.aspx If you primarily use value and reference semantics, RAII, smart pointers, STL containers and algorithms, etc, C++ looks a lot like a really powerful high-level language, because that's what it is. Things only start to get ugly and/or low-level when you are trying to heavily optimize things. Stroustrop (mentioned in other comments) is a great way to get started, and Effective C++ (http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Specific-Improve-Programs-Designs/dp/0321334876 http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Specific-Improve-Programs-De...) and its cousins will help you not shoot yourself in the foot. C is a whole different beast. If you've coded in Java, you have a basic idea of how to do encapsulation in C++. Encapsulation in C is nearly impossible to guarantee. Really, a lot of C programming relies heavily on negotiated conventions and design by contract. Learning the C language is pretty easy (read K&R some weekend), but learning to program well in C is a completely different thing.