Thread: C Book Recommendations

A word about Prata's "C Primer" -

I'm currently learning C from the 5th edition of this book. While it is an excellent book in many ways, I do have some misgivings. Mainly, I do not think it's suitable for someone who has no programming experience at all. It would be if the first 120 pages or so weren't so long winded - in my opinion they go into far too much detail about the different data types and their sizes on different systems. Prata also spends far too much time in the beginning on conversion specifiers and modifiers.

Sure, introduce these things - but in my opinion there is no need for the beginner to learn every single type of specifier and data type and promotion/demotion rule at that stage of the game. Set out the basic principles and put the rest in the appendix.

I've programmed before in a couple of other languages but even so I found myself getting confused and a little bored going through this first part of the book. Prata even sees fit to inform the reader that "under K&R C, but not current C, float is automatically converted to double." Why confuse a beginner with that kind of useless information at a point in the learning curve when he or she is likely to feel a little "shaky" anyway? The C style of programming can be daunting enough to someone who has only programmed in a higher language like Python before, without being bombarded with excruciating minutia like this!

Great for an existing programmer who wants to learn C thoroughly from scratch, but not so great for a total beginner IMO. Also his explanation of pointers is somewhat confusing for beginners.

On the plus side, the exercises at the end of each chapter are great - very well composed and satisfying to complete.

I got a nice book well outlined instructions, highlighted notes and stuff. Learned to rpogram in about a month so try it:

Apress.Beginning.C.From.Novice.to.Professional.4th.Edition.Oct.2006
AUTHORED BY: IVOR HORTON

THere may be an updated one.

read the book "illustrating C"

These two are best book on C and Data Structures

1. C In Depth 2nd edition
BPB Publication
Deepali Srivastava

This is best book I have ever seen. Each chapter of this book is unique and ultimate.
Each chapters like control statement, functions, array, pointer, structure, file handling, Bit manipulation, preprocessors and others are so simple as well as given in detail and also how it has been used while doing system software development.

I have never seen Pointers and File handling in this wonderful way. As well as got how to develop one project in C and code optimization in this book in very easy way.

I really got good knowledge and confidence after studing this book.

And I am really agree with autor words who claim that this book make students from learner to developer.

2. Data Structures Through C In Depth
BPB Publication
Deepali Srivastava

This book has most of the data structures explained in very easy way as well as implementation is also given in way that anyone can understand easily.

I went trough 4-5 books but was able to understand the data structures from this only as most of the books have not given implementation.

Unfortunately author has written the book only on these two topics and I have seen lot of people asking her to write on other topic as well.

As I was also searching book C++ In Depth by her but came to know that it has not been written and have requested her in mail that we need on this as well.

Prata's C Primer Plus 5/ed
excellent book. i have many books and this is the best.

C: A Software Engineering Approach
~Sven

I actually took out K&R 2nd Edition from my library when I first started. It had an appendix in the back that listed all of the headers in the standard library and then in each of those sections it prototyped and explained all of the functions declared in the header.
~Sven

EDIT~ Also not on that topic I highly recommend "C An All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies" for beginners.

I've only just started learning C. Our "class" text is "C Programming" by Larry Ullman and Marc Liyanage (ISBN: 0-321-28763-0).


PROS

1) I really like the way it is laid out. It starts with the basic concepts and code and builds slowly so you can not only use it as a reference book, but also as a tutorial. I like that concept. I think the publishers (Peachpit Press) call this layout a "Visual Quickstart Guide".

2) It gives example programs that illustrate certain concepts then they go over the code, line by line, explaining what each bit does in detail. I find that this helps me a great deal.

3) Unlike some of the books I have seen, it doesn't automatically assume that you use a Windows machine. All the code has been checked out on Windows, MacOSX and Linux and they even include some basic info about IDEs on all 3 platforms and how to use them. If there is any platform specific information given, it is clearly marked as such.

CONS

1) The only thing I don't like about this book is that it is possibly a bit too basic for me. Even though I am a begginer, I am finding that I am flying through it. I'd probably prefer a slightly steeper learning curve but this is perhaps just a personal preference. You might argue that this book is too good at making C easy to understand so perhaps this isn't even a con.

In short, this book is excellent for begginers on all platforms and regardless of IDE but it may be a little bit basic for a faster learner or someone who is already familiar with the basic concepts of programming (eg. loops, variables, etc).

I'd highly recommend it for anyone who is new to C in particular and programming in general.

ANSI C Programming by E Balagurusamy is quite good.

C Programming, A Modern Approach
by K.N. King

it's a big book (660 pgs) but really good for the beginner. i reference this book all the time because i find the explainations easy to understand. uses the 'spiral approach to learning'. very complete--also includes an intro to C++.

ISBN 0-393-96945-2

http://www.comeaucomputing.com/booklist/

I like Prata's C Primer Plus 5/ed. Pretty comprehensive.

Expert C Programming - Deep C Secrets by Peter Van der Linden is a very good book but not for beginners.

Can look complicated sometimes but very useful in getting a solid understanding...

Originally Posted by nappaji

Expert C Programming - Deep C Secrets by Peter Van der Linden is a very good book but not for beginners.

Can look complicated sometimes but very useful in getting a solid understanding...

Useful and funny, that's one of the best technique book I've ever seen!

Another book, C Traps and Pitfalls by Andrew Koenig.
Abstract of this book,
"The C language is like a carving knife: simple, sharp, and extremely useful in skilled hands. Like any sharp tool, C can injure people who don’t know how to handle it. This paper shows some of the ways C can injure the unwary, and how to avoid injury."