Customer Reviews

C for Dummies, Volume 1

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you want to learn how to program C, but don't know anything about programming, that's alright. This is the ONLY book that takes you from complete computer ignoramus to an intermediate programmer! Get it now!

I've read books before that try to teach you something difficult, like..oh..really understanding Windows 95. But this book doesn't throw you into the Sea of C without a life jacket. The author, starts out with a laugh and ends with a laugh. If the author wasn't such a good programmer, I'd suggest that he get a job as a comedian. But even though he does make a lot of jokes, he accomplishes teaching you a somewhat difficult thing, the C programming language. Wow, a self teaching book that actually accomplishes what it sets out to do. Oh my God, I would have just bought the book to see that. The author walks you through C with alot of examples, and ALOT of patience. The only reason I didn't give the book a perfect 10 is because it doesn't go through the majority of the language. There's a second volume which I am still waiting for. But since it is going to be written by the same author, I will of course be first in line to buy it.

If you want to learn C, this is the one book to buy. If you get stranded on a desert island and have nothing but a C compiler, this is the book for you. Seriously, if you have been looking to learn C but don't know which to buy, BUY THIS ONE! I went through 3 other beginners C books and I couldn't understand them, this one I went through in a week and I loved it. If you buy the book and do not like it, then you might not have a sense of humor, lots of jokes in the book. I just wish Dan would write books on Java and C++. The book is funny and very easy to understand, the perfect book for the person who knows nothing about programming. Dan, you rock.

This book is amazing, it teaches C in a way that you can understand; with either little knowledge of programming or absolutly none, this book is the best out there. Start to finish I read this book like it was a novel, lol I wanted to keep reading and find out what others things I could do!

Also: pick up his second volume, C for dummies Volume 2 while you are at it, it picks up where this one left off with more advanced topics such as pointers.

If you are new to computer programming and or the C language, C for dummies is the book for you. Dan Gookin has a way of making sense out of programming that no other author was able to show me. Dan's humor and style make learning fun. I cant wait to start the next volume.

The amount of non-standard code and poor programming practices inside this book are astounding. Let me iterate that main() must return int. dos.h is not a standard header file. It must be understood that C is a portable language, with certain "built in" functions and header files. As a beginner book, I believe that you should understand the actual language, before moving into different extensions of it. Many people do not use DOS/Windows for development. I use Linux for instance. On an upside, the writer does have a sense of humour, which is the only thing that prevented me from throwing this book into the trash.

If you have no previous experience programming whatsoever, then this is the C book for you.

As an illustration, my programming experience was in Atari and Apple Basic (anyone remember the Atari 400 or the Apple IIe?), and never proceeded past 1984. Clearly I have minimal experience to say the least.

While this book did contain some useful information for me, but nothing that I could not get from and number of on-line tutorals....

Like all of the "For Dummies" books, this volume caters to the absolute layman. NO PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE OF PROGRAMMING NECESSARY. Everything is explained extremely, extremely lucidly so that a complete ignoramus can learn the language somewhat proficiently. There is only one warning I have. Dont expect to become an expert at C after reading both volumes. Go to another book, such as "C How to Program" or the Kernighan and Ritchie classic for intermediate to advanced programming.

I bought this book knowing that is was slow moving, which was what I thought I would want from it, having found all other C books way too technical. Whilst this book is good at getting over the very basic concepts of C (OK I haven't read vol. 2 yet), it is the other extreme - very very very slow moving. By page 150 it is just getting past printing stuff in pure text mode onto the screen. I guess I under-estimated myself in terms of how well I would pick up the functions!

I thought it was too slow for me, although did help me a little with the slight differences between C and say, Perl, which I already had some experience with. If I hadn't had any experience with Perl, I think this book would have been ideal! As for a comment I saw saying that the programs don't compile properly, it has been tested on Microsoft and Borland C compilers, and I tried using the generic instructions with DJGPP (a freeware compiler) and they worked fine!

This book is a must for people who want's to write C. Also, best for Beginners too. This was the first book that kinda came in mind because I just looked through the bookstore and flipped through a couple of pages. I found this book had lots of good and funny humor in it. Another thing, it doesn't have those words that they use to make it sound "Important and professional", it's just like today's english. I would recommend this book to any beginner who wants to learn C without putting the book down much!