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The C Programming Language

Second Edition (International Edition)

By Dennis M. Ritchie, Brian W. Kernighan

(143)

| Paperback | 9780131193710

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Book Description

From the Preface

We have tried to retain the brevity of the first edition. C is not a big language, and it is not well served by a big book. We have improved the exposition of critical features, such as pointers, that are central to C programming. We have refined the original examples, an Continue

4 Reviews

2 people find this helpful

One of the most misguided ideas in programming pedagogy is the idea that you have to seduce people into programming by starting with simple, fun, graphical stuff. Some people think that the best way to learn programming is to start with HTML, maybe, and then learn how to cut and paste some javascrip ... (continue)

One of the most misguided ideas in programming pedagogy is the idea that you have to seduce people into programming by starting with simple, fun, graphical stuff. Some people think that the best way to learn programming is to start with HTML, maybe, and then learn how to cut and paste some javascripts, and then move on. Another misconception is that you should start with a trendy, marketable programming skill like Java or Web Database Programming.
Well, those people are wrong.
For various reasons too complicated to go into here, I believe that you have to start programming at a level that is as close to the machine as reasonable. I think that this book, universally known as K&R, is THE book anyone who wants to be a programmer must learn first. Pick it up and work through it in detail. If you love every minute of it, you can be a programmer. If you find this old-school text programming stuff boring, or the pointer stuff drives you crazy, trust me, you're not going to like programming very much. If you need to be seduced into programming or if you don't have the patience to figure out what all those crazy asterisks mean, you're going to be happier doing something else. Really. But if you can make it through this book by yourself, you've got what it takes to be a top gun programmer, and you've got a terrific foundation for everything else you're going to learn.

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J.S. (testing) said on Oct 20, 2005 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

My favorite C programming book in my first C programming class in University.

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Johnlcf said on Jul 24, 2008 | Add your feedback

After you have learn a little bit about C and feel somewhat comfortable, get this book. It will be the only book about C you will need on your shelf.

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Manuel M Calavera said on Apr 2, 2011 | Add your feedback

Grammar and vocabulary, just lacks some usage

I think I can just confirm what tons of reviews by more attentive persons than I am say: The rules and some very interesting code is inside this book, and there's everything you should know of the C language pertaining to its structure (data structures and functions to operate upon them), but I gues ... (continue)

I think I can just confirm what tons of reviews by more attentive persons than I am say: The rules and some very interesting code is inside this book, and there's everything you should know of the C language pertaining to its structure (data structures and functions to operate upon them), but I guess that to become a master you still need (1) loads of practice and (2) books about best practices and effective usage (see "Effective Java" by Joshua Bloch for the Java programming language)

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sturmer said on Dec 8, 2008 | Add your feedback