Nth request of book recommendations

[Guido Mureddu]

Hello,

I'm a student in electronic engineering. I do know you've seen and answered this
sort of topic/request countless times, but I haven't found past threads as
helpful as I had hoped, and even though I have read them all and many reviews, I
prefer to ask directly to people who know the subject better than anyone else.

First of all, I'm not new to programming, and I have already had an
introductory course on C. I have an "intermedia te C" course this semester.
Whatever "intermedia te C" means, I intend to learn the language in much greater
detail than I did with the introductory course. The professor gave us choice
between two books: "C: The Complete Reference" by Herbert Schildt, and "A Book
on C" by Kelley/Pohl.
I have Schildt's. I started reading through it page by page, happy to have found
a deep and detailed - but readable - reference on the language. As you can
imagine, the book's inconsistencies started to make me suspicious after the
first few chapters. I searched here for threads about the book, and found a lot
of bashing and general dislike of the book, which confirmed my (sad) impression
that I was reading a very enjoyable, but misinforming, book.

I want a better book - one that I can rely on. At the same time, I don't want
another introduction to the language - I've gone through that already. And I
want something readable, not some sort of C encyclopedia. My searches narrowed
down possible candidates to these books:

- "A Book on C", by Kelley & Pohl. This seems to be recommended by many, but is
it good as a detailed reference? My general feeling is that it might be a little
too oriented towards the beginner.

- "The C Programming Language", well, K&R2. Definitely a book I will buy sooner
or later, but I feel that right now I'd like something more detailed. I know
it's still the best - but extracting informations from it may not always be
easy. Also I'm not sure about its value as a complete reference.

- "C: A Reference Manual" by Harbison & Steele. Do I need this for my studies?
Is it actually useful for learning, or is it only a reference? Is it readable
by someone who only knows the basics of the language? In general, can it be read
almost cover to cover?

If possible, I'd like to know about the quality of the binding/paper of these
books: because of their prices, I want them to last one decade, not one year.

To put it simply: I want a book like Schildt's, but correct, precise and
conforming to the ANSI standard.

If you've actually read through all this, thank you. I hope someone can help me.
Feel free to recommend another book if you think my three possible choices are
not adequate.
Guido Mureddu

_______________ _______________ _______________
Written with VIM - Vi Improved (www.vim.org)

[Guido Mureddu]

Thanks to everyone who helped me out with this. :)

I've ordered my copy of K&R2, which seems to be the best choice and recommended
by many. Maybe I'll buy the H & S tome later. Other books like "C Unleashed" and
the Kochan books also look interesting, but I won't consider getting them before
I've got some more experience/skill in the language.

bye,

- Guido Mureddu

[Craig Maloney]

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 23:56:39 +0000, fb wrote:

Finally, "C Programming: A Modern Approach" I've heard is also quite
good. Take your pick.

I'll second this. "C Programming: A Modern Approach" is a great book and
is very easy reading. Highly recommended.

--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Craig Maloney (cr***@decafbad .net) http://decafbad.net
Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world
owes you nothing. It was here first. -- Mark Twain

[Randy Howard]

In article <Pine.WNT.4.58. 0411271951370.-745469@guido>, gm***@tiscali.i t
says...

First of all, I'm not new to programming, and I have already had an
introductory course on C. I have an "intermedia te C" course this semester.
Odds are your professor didn't teach you portable, ANSI/ISO C. The
curriculum, in all likelihood, contained a lot of "wives tales" with
respect to C, so simply subscribing to this newsgroup and following
many of the threads until they invariably diverge into OT rants is
highly recommended.
Whatever "intermedia te C" means, I intend to learn the language in much greater
detail than I did with the introductory course. The professor gave us choice
between two books: "C: The Complete Reference" by Herbert Schildt, and "A Book
on C" by Kelley/Pohl.
The fact that the professor had Schildt as a book choice sort of proves
that you likely suffered badly at the hands of this "course" with respect
to learning proper C.
I have Schildt's. I started reading through it page by page, happy to have found
a deep and detailed - but readable - reference on the language.
Sadly, it's badly flawed. Schildt is universally reviled as the least
accurate, most prone to stupidity author extant in the field of
programming texts. Your best option would be to use it to start a
fire.
the book's inconsistencies started to make me suspicious after the
first few chapters. I searched here for threads about the book, and found a lot
of bashing and general dislike of the book, which confirmed my (sad) impression
that I was reading a very enjoyable, but misinforming, book.
Bingo.
- "The C Programming Language, well, K&R2. Definitely a book I will buy sooner
or later, but I feel that right now I'd like something more detailed.
Mistake. You should have bought it first, it should have been used in the
class.
I know
it's still the best - but extracting informations from it may not always be
easy. Also I'm not sure about its value as a complete reference.
Do you realize who the authors are, and their relationship to the title?
- "C: A Reference Manual" by Harbison & Steele. Do I need this for my studies?
Is it actually useful for learning, or is it only a reference? Is it readable
by someone who only knows the basics of the language? In general, can it be read
almost cover to cover?
Yes, yes, no, yes and yes. Every serious C programmer should have a copy of
it.
If possible, I'd like to know about the quality of the binding/paper of these
books: because of their prices, I want them to last one decade, not one year.
Go down to Walmart or a suitable equivalent and buy a roll of clear transparent
shelf paper and use it to cover the book like the old paper book covers you had
when you were a kid in school. The book will last practically forever
afterward.
To put it simply: I want a book like Schildt's, but correct, precise and
conforming to the ANSI standard.
You do NOT want a book like Schildt's. You want a book the opposite
of Schildt's, in other words, one that is factually correct.
Feel free to recommend another book if you think my three possible choices are
not adequate.

Steve Summit's C FAQ, either in book form or online is required reading.

Expert C Programming is very interesting, particularly if you do UNIX/Linux
at all, but definitely not a "tutorial".

Again, reading this newsgroup and paying careful attention to the various
threads is probably the best textbok you can hope for.
--
Randy Howard (2reply remove FOOBAR)
"For some reason most people seem to be born without the part
of the brain that understands pointers." -- Joel Spolsky