Re: Nth request of book recommendations

From: Flash Gordon (spam_at_flash-gordon.me.uk)
Date: 11/27/04 

Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2004 22:11:46 +0000

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 20:26:55 +0100
Guido Mureddu <gm_81@tiscali.it> wrote:

> 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.

Have you also checked the FAQ?

> First of all, I'm not new to programming, and I have already had an
> introductory course on C. I have an "intermediate C" course this
> semester. Whatever "intermediate 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,

I'm already less than impressed with your professor.

> 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.

Good, you've got the correct impression. You could see if it works
better as fuel for a fire than it does as a C text 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:

<snip>

> - "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.

<snip>

I don't know the other books you mention, but I've found K&R2 easy to
read, although I had been developing SW proffesionally for a few years
before learning C. I believe some around here learnt to program from
K&R2. So, if I was you I would get K&R2 now even if you also get
something else.

> 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.

My copy of K&R2 is old and a bit tatty. If it becomes unusable I'll
happily buy a new copy.

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

There are some errors in K&R2, but the errata is available on line. It
is close to complete and I believe the ommissions are minor.

> 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.

The only C book I have ever owned is K&R2. There are some other good
works, but they can be hard to find amongst the rubbish. 

-- 
Flash Gordon
Living in interesting times.
Although my email address says spam, it is real and I read it.