If you look on the masthead of this magazine, you'll see a lot of names you probably don't recognize. Many of the people who contribute to CUJ do not appear often in print. One of those people is Chuck Allison, our Consulting Editor. In Chuck's case, "Consulting Editor" is not just some fancy title. He has added much to the content of CUJ, by helping us stay up-to-date and by soliciting articles from well-known and respected authors.
But when longtime CUJ readers think of Chuck Allison, they probably think of (and lament the passing of) his old column, "Code Capsules." In that column, Chuck demonstrated his knack for boiling down language concepts to their essentials, all without making them trivial or bland. In short, he knew how to simplify without becoming simplistic.
When I first came aboard CUJ five years ago, Chuck was just starting his three-part series on pointers. I like to imagine that, as Chuck's editor, I was the first person on the planet to experience the great "Ah Ha" that came from reading those articles. It was like physics: with a handful of physics principles, you could reconstruct the universe. With a handful of Chuck's pointer principles, you could reconstruct the whole alien landscape of pointers and arrays. To this day, I have yet to see a more lucid treatment of pointers. It ought to be required reading for anyone starting out in C or C++.
Sadly for CUJ, Chuck had to give up his column in mid-1995. But the circumstances were fortuitous: he got too busy teaching C++, speaking at conferences, and participating as a member of the C++ Standards Committee, not to mention spending time with his family and serving in his church.
If you miss Chuck's old column, or if you just weren't reading CUJ back then, all is not lost. You can now enjoy Chuck's writing in his new book, C&C++ Code Capsules, A Guide for Practitioners (Prentice Hall, 1998). There you'll find the best of his old columns, updated to match the Final Draft International Standard; and some new material as well. Like each installment of his old column, each chapter is a self-contained "capsule," easily read in one sitting. Accessible, engaging, and profound is how I would describe this book.
I still refuse to accept that Chuck is no longer a columnist for CUJ. I like to think he has just gone on a long sabbatical. In fact, based on recent conversations with him, I'd say the chances of his becoming a regular contributor again are good. But don't wait for that day. Check out his Code Capsules book. Then visit his website (www.freshsources.com) and tell him to get himself back to CUJ, where he belongs. You'll be doing us all a favor.
Marc Briand
Editor-in-Chief