C

C: A Reference Manual (5th Edition)

Format: Paperback
Author: Samuel P. Harbison
ReleaseDate: 21 February, 2002
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Rating:

All the hype and more!
I will not attempt to better what folks have already written. This book deserves six stars. What has been said thus far, and positive, is the truth.

My history:
I did the normal task of reading a giant book to get acquainted to the language, as required by school. In my spare time at the library I searched for a lighter book, of reference material type once I learned the language. I found their 3rd edition and was constantly rechecking it out of the library to the point I was annoyed and finally I looked for a newer edition. Like most C books that are produced in the late eighties/early ninety's I thought there wouldn't be a newer edition available - much to my surprise a newly minted fifth edition was available. . . had I only found it earlier!

The book is light and small enough that if you're like me, a traveling developer, the book is priceless. It's small and it packs a punch! Takes literally two seconds to look something up that's bugging you, and when you find it you purposely read more than required because it's abundant with great information.

Goes everywhere with me. Can't say enough about this book.

The Reference for the C Language
It covers the language syntax, libraries and C++ compatibility. If you know the C language but need a reference to look up the arcane parts of the language (and the parts which you don't always remember), this is the book. The book is well organized so I can find the information I need quickly. This is the book I reach for whenever I have some C question.

The holy trinity of C


And no others. Listen Grasshopper, to master the ways of C you need these three books:

The C Programming Language
C: A reference Manual
Data Structures: An Advanced Approach using C. That is the beauty of C. It is small and minimal. Than learn Scheme. You will never need anything else.