The most elegant programming book I have ever read
Rating:
5 / 5
This book is not "for Dummies". It assumes that you already have some knowledge of structured programming languages (i.e. Pascal). For example, this book spends four well-written pages explaining everything you need to know about functions. If you don't know what a function is, this will clearly not be enough. However, if you do know about functions, this book will not drone on and on for an entire chapter or two on the subject like some of the foot-crunching tomes the size of an encyclopdia. The book is expensive ($40) for its size (approx. 250pgs.), but it is worth every penny. To quote the authors: "C is not a big language, and it is not served well by a big book." As a bonus, almost anything you need to know about C can be found in seconds using the excellent index. It should be noted that this is a language reference and will NOT tell you how to use your editing environment or compiler. In summary, intermediate or advanced programmers should be able to learn C with reasonable proficiency in a short amount of time.
The C Programming Bible
Rating:
5 / 5
As many of the other reviews, I praise this book. This book claim it is not intended for novices, something many other reviewers have confirmed. But I think that is underestimating novices. From knowing very little about programming (read .bat files), I became quite fluent in C by just reading this book. It give a complete picture of the C language, ande the code examples are (imho) clear, concise and the style is good. One thing I like is that many of the examples are complete prgrams, something I found useful when trying to understand the code. This is THE resource for learning C programming. Plus, with it's good index and refernce manual, It is allso a convenient book to keep on the desk for reference. After all this bragging, here's the downside: This book is not meant for "idiots", as C programming language is not for "idiots". You need some ability to think structured and logical. Anyone who have trouble writing simple shell-scripts etc. should opt for a "for dummies" type of book. At last, please remember that this is a subjetive review, based on MY needs and MY experiences, and you may not agree with me.
Great, not for new comers though
Rating:
5 / 5
Great book, not for people who nothing about programming. If you "look inside this book" (or find this book at a local bookstore) and can read the intro pages, you could see that they come right out and say that their target audience should know about variables, and other basics of programming (functions and decision making if-else, i think). I bought this book used, and apparantly the person who owned it before me did not check out the content nor what was assumed of the readers. Although it may sound kind of mean, I found it hilarious as I was flipping through the pages where he had written in things like "What's a double?", "whats this: || ?", "LOWER = 0; ?". If you're unsure whether this book is for you, click on that "look inside this book" above and try following along in the first chapter. If you get lost, get an easier book. If it's just right, then go for it.
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