book on C

[Paul]

Today I went out to a book store in search of a good book on C,
I know quite a lot of C already so I wasnt looking for one of those
"Learn C in 21 Days" type of books, I was more after a book that
would serve as a reference and I could look at when my memory
had failed me and needed refreshing. I had numerous choices as
far as C reference books, The one I chose is called

"The Complete reference, C, fourth edition"
Published by osborne, Author Herbert Schildt

Anyone got any opinions on whether this was a good/poor
choice or has different recommendations. I am going to build
up a library of programming books, so just looking for opinions.

Cheers

 

[Keith Thompson]

Today I went out to a book store in search of a good book on C,
I know quite a lot of C already so I wasnt looking for one of those
"Learn C in 21 Days" type of books, I was more after a book that
would serve as a reference and I could look at when my memory
had failed me and needed refreshing. I had numerous choices as
far as C reference books, The one I chose is called

"The Complete reference, C, fourth edition"
Published by osborne, Author Herbert Schildt

Schildt is notorious for writing books that seem to be well-written,
but that are full of dangerous misinformation. He's particularly bad
about distinguishing between standard C and system-specific features.

See <http://www.lysator.liu.se/c/schildt.html> for a detailed
review of one of his books.

I'm not familiar with the book you picked up. I've heard that Schildt
has improved, but not by much.

Harbison & Steele's "C: A Reference Manual", currently in its 5th
edition, is good.

 

[CBFalconer]

Today I went out to a book store in search of a good book on C,
I know quite a lot of C already so I wasnt looking for one of those
"Learn C in 21 Days" type of books, I was more after a book that
would serve as a reference and I could look at when my memory
had failed me and needed refreshing. I had numerous choices as
far as C reference books, The one I chose is called

"The Complete reference, C, fourth edition"
Published by osborne, Author Herbert Schildt

Anyone got any opinions on whether this was a good/poor
choice or has different recommendations. I am going to build
up a library of programming books, so just looking for opinions.

Congratulations. You have made the worst possible choice for your
objectives. You now are the proud possessor of BullSchildt. If
you can get your money back, do so. If not, burn the book to avoid
influencing the young and innocent. Then get the reliable K & R
"The C Programming Language".

 

[Paul]

Congratulations. You have made the worst possible choice for your
objectives. You now are the proud possessor of BullSchildt. If
you can get your money back, do so. If not, burn the book to avoid
influencing the young and innocent. Then get the reliable K & R
"The C Programming Language".

Wow. that was brutally up front. There was a book by that title there by
K&R.
But it seemed very short, maybe 100 pages or so.

Could you elaborate on why you think my choice was bad?

 

[infobahn]

Wow. that was brutally up front.

Well, you did ask.

There was a book by that title there by K&R.
But it seemed very short, maybe 100 pages or so.

272 pages of closely-packed information. They squeezed out all the
padding, and just left you the info. If page count is what matters
to you, buy a few reams of printer paper. It's a lot cheaper that
way.

Could you elaborate on why you think my choice was bad?

Peter Seebach, a member of ISO, has already covered this:

http://herd.plethora.net/~seebs/c/c_tcr.html

I don't know which edition he was reviewing, but I have a copy
of the 2nd edition which is riddled with errors. I have browsed
the 4th edition in a bookstore, and found that to be riddled with
errors too.

*Some* errors are inevitable, but C-TCR makes a mockery of the
idea of actually learning your subject before you publish a book
about it. In an introductory text, that's unforgiveable.

 

[Christian Bau]

Wow. that was brutally up front. There was a book by that title there by
K&R.
But it seemed very short, maybe 100 pages or so.

Could you elaborate on why you think my choice was bad?

As a test for advanced C programmers: Pick a random page of "The
Annotated C Standard", then find all the errors on that page.

 

[infobahn]

As a test for advanced C programmers: Pick a random page of "The
Annotated C Standard", then find all the errors on that page.

Optimisation exercise: confine your analysis to the - well, I don't
have the book, but I think HS's annotations are on the right-hand
pages. The text of the Standard itself is - *on the whole* - free
of errors (with occasional exceptions such as those noted by
Clive Feather).

 

[Old Wolf]

Quality, not quantity.

As a test for advanced C programmers: Pick a random page of "The
Annotated C Standard", then find all the errors on that page.

A page on the left side, or a page on the right side?

 

[Jesse Meyer]

[re: K&R]

272 pages of closely-packed information. They squeezed out all the
padding, and just left you the info. If page count is what matters
to you, buy a few reams of printer paper. It's a lot cheaper that
way.

I hate to say it, but I found K&R a poor teaching solution because of
its density. Its worth owning as an excellent reference, but for some
people (myself included) its a poor "starter" book[1].

The book I did use to teach myself the basics of C is very, very out of
print and somewhat out of date -- therefore I can't recommend a good
"slow-learner's" beginner's book on c.

I did find the C FAQ informative after learning a bit of C. And I can
strongly recommend 'C Unleashed' as your second or third book. Hanging
out in the appropriate IRC channels can be quite informative as well.

[1] I don't know why I had such a problem with K&R. Usually my brain
likes densely packed information.

 

[infobahn]

I hate to say it, but I found K&R a poor teaching solution because of
its density. Its worth owning as an excellent reference, but for some
people (myself included) its a poor "starter" book[1].

The book I did use to teach myself the basics of C is very, very out of
print and somewhat out of date -- therefore I can't recommend a good
"slow-learner's" beginner's book on c.

C Programming: A Modern Approach, K.N.King, W.W.Norton & Company, 1996.
ISBN 0-393-96945-2

C: How to Program, 2nd Ed. Deitel, H.M. & Deitel, P.J. Prentice Hall,
1994.
ISBN 0-13-226119-7

 

[DHOLLINGSWORTH2]

There are a lot of good and bad books out there.

I found that I learned quicker with a good reference book, and writting tons
upon tons of code.

Que used to have some pretty comprehensive books on the subject. I say used
to becuase I'm not sure if they still do. My most valuable resources are
all online now, and usually when it goes to print it's outdated.

The Standard, however will live on.

I hate to say it, but I found K&R a poor teaching solution because of
its density. Its worth owning as an excellent reference, but for some
people (myself included) its a poor "starter" book[1].

The book I did use to teach myself the basics of C is very, very out of
print and somewhat out of date -- therefore I can't recommend a good
"slow-learner's" beginner's book on c.

C Programming: A Modern Approach, K.N.King, W.W.Norton & Company, 1996.
ISBN 0-393-96945-2

C: How to Program, 2nd Ed. Deitel, H.M. & Deitel, P.J. Prentice Hall,
1994.
ISBN 0-13-226119-7

 

[infobahn]

[Top-posting fixed]

There are a lot of good and bad books out there.

How do you define "good" and "bad" books?

I found that I learned quicker with a good reference book, and writting tons
upon tons of code.

Which "good reference book" did you use to learn?

 

[liessens]

Today I went out to a book store in search of a good book on C,
I know quite a lot of C already so I wasnt looking for one of those
"Learn C in 21 Days" type of books, I was more after a book that
would serve as a reference and I could look at when my memory
had failed me and needed refreshing. I had numerous choices as
far as C reference books, The one I chose is called

"The Complete reference, C, fourth edition"
Published by osborne, Author Herbert Schildt

Anyone got any opinions on whether this was a good/poor
choice or has different recommendations. I am going to build
up a library of programming books, so just looking for opinions.

Cheers

Any thougths on O'Reilly's Practical C ?


Ben

 

[infobahn]

Any thougths on O'Reilly's Practical C ?

I browsed a colleague's copy once. I can't remember now why I thought
it was terrible, but I thought it was terrible.

 

[Alan Balmer]

Any thougths on O'Reilly's Practical C ?

Haven't looked at it, though I threw away a copy of Practical C++, not
wanting to have the responsibility of giving to someone who might take
it seriously. I was quite disappointed, since I like O'Reilly books in
general.

 

[DHOLLINGSWORTH2]

How do you define "good" and "bad" books?

bad books give you more questions than answers.
Good books are easily read, and understood. The more comprehensive the
better.

Which "good reference book" did you use to learn?

Several, My primary reference was the C programmers Reference, the C++
language refernce, and related materials that came with my compilers.
Borland used to be one of the best. The new B C Builder, however is one of
the worst, for online docs, I haven't got any print.

The ANSI C book our college used was one of the worst. It was great for
people who don't want to make a career out of Programming.

 

[infobahn]

bad books give you more questions than answers.

I disagree. A good book should provoke you to study.

Good books are easily read, and understood. The more comprehensive the
better.

How highly do you rate accuracy of content?

Several, My primary reference was the C programmers Reference, the C++
language refernce, and related materials that came with my compilers.

Oh dear.

Borland used to be one of the best. The new B C Builder, however is one of
the worst, for online docs, I haven't got any print.

Strange, since C++ Builder ships with printed documentation.

 

[Jesse Meyer]

Any thougths on O'Reilly's Practical C ?

accu doesn't recomment it:

http://accu.org/cgi-bin/accu/rvout.cgi?from=0sb_beginner_s_c&file=p001735a

 

[Mark McIntyre]

bad books give you more questions than answers.
Good books are easily read, and understood. The more comprehensive the
better.

Interesting. I'd have said the former were /very/ good books, and the latter
merely good ones!

 

[Chris Hills]

Today I went out to a book store in search of a good book on C,
I know quite a lot of C already so I wasnt looking for one of those
"Learn C in 21 Days" type of books, I was more after a book that
would serve as a reference and I could look at when my memory
had failed me and needed refreshing. I had numerous choices as
far as C reference books, The one I chose is called

"The Complete reference, C, fourth edition"
Published by osborne, Author Herbert Schildt

Anyone got any opinions on whether this was a good/poor
choice or has different recommendations. I am going to build
up a library of programming books, so just looking for opinions.

Cheers

look on http://www.accu.org for book reviews.

The accu is independent and doesn't sell books.

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