1. **State the problem:** We need to find the result when the expression $$(x + 8)^2$$ is subtracted from $$(x + 7)$$ and write the answer as a simplified polynomial in standard form. 2. **Write the expression:** The problem can be written as: $$ (x + 7) - (x + 8)^2 $$ 3. **Recall the formula for squaring a binomial:** $$(a + b)^2 = a^2 + 2ab + b^2$$ 4. **Apply the formula to $$(x + 8)^2$$:** $$ (x + 8)^2 = x^2 + 2 \cdot x \cdot 8 + 8^2 = x^2 + 16x + 64 $$ 5. **Substitute back into the expression:** $$ (x + 7) - (x^2 + 16x + 64) $$ 6. **Distribute the subtraction:** $$ x + 7 - x^2 - 16x - 64 $$ 7. **Combine like terms:** $$ -x^2 + (x - 16x) + (7 - 64) = -x^2 - 15x - 57 $$ 8. **Write the final answer in standard polynomial form:** $$ \boxed{-x^2 - 15x - 57} $$ This is the simplified polynomial after subtracting $$(x + 8)^2$$ from $$(x + 7)$$.