Hello guys!
So I am a computer geek in China and I am searching for another alternative except The C Programming Language (K&R), which is a harder one for me.
Recently, I am studying The C Programming Language (K&R). But as you know, I am still in high school and I am also a rookie in C programming now. Thus, this book might be too difficult for me.
So I posted a thread there (it's the one that your are reading now), and waiting for help.
Any comment might be helpful.
Thanks for everything.
I think the book "C programming: a modern approach" by King is decent book. I haven't actually read it myself, only browsed it, but I know that many beginners like it.
This depends on how serious you are about C. If you say you're serious, stick it out with K&R. It may be a terse read, but if you put in the time to not just read the book, but study each page and do each exercise, you will be much better off..... IMO.
In my experience, the difficulty came from understanding what some of the exercises where actually asking for. If you have questions, feel free to ask.
My recommendations would be:
"C++ How to Program (7th Edition)" Deitel & Deitel
"C: A Reference Manual (5th Edition)" Harbison & Steele
"C Primer Plus (6th Edition) (Developer's Library)" Stephen Prata
There is a downloadable PDF copy of the Harbison & Steele book here.
K&R is starting to show its age though... Don't get me wrong, I started out with that book ages ago, but one would think that there should be quite a few better books to learn from. The only book I would recommend over K&R is actually the King book though.Originally Posted by nul
This depends on how serious you are about C. If you say you're serious, stick it out with K&R. It may be a terse read, but if you put in the time to not just read the book, but study each page and do each exercise, you will be much better off..... IMO.
In my experience, the difficulty came from understanding what some of the exercises where actually asking for. If you have questions, feel free to ask.
This is more of a reference, not something that you start out with. It might be a good companion with another book though.
O_oK&R is starting to show its age though... Don't get me wrong, I started out with that book ages ago, but one would think that there should be quite a few better books to learn from.
I'd still recommend "The C Programming Language" over any other C text. I'd still recommend "Accelerated C++" over any other C++ text. These are excellent, concise books that do a wonderful job covering a lot of complex material often with idiomatic expression.
Educational texts of such quality are sadly not very common. You might find one or two books of a higher educational value, but the field is too plagued by crap to receive a real benefit from competition leading to better materials on average.
Soma
“Salem Was Wrong!” -- Pedant Necromancer
“Four isn't random!” -- Gibbering Mouther
Thank goodness you told me a decent track to start out. And now I decided to go on "The C Programming Language" with a reference "C Programming: A Modern Approach". It could be much better off if I got a reference in my hand, IMO.
It's a great emotion that a number of replies posted to me in a minute!
Thanks to everyone for your specific, detailed, and patient comments.
