Customer Reviews

C for Dummies, Volume One & Two Bundle

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

(five stars because I couldn't give it more) This set of books is THE way to learn C programming. A guy a few reviews back claimed volume II was useless because he couldn't understand pointers. I don't know about him, but the chapter on pointers was one of the best written in the book. It was a little lacking on the humor side, but it explained pointers -- one of the most complicated aspects of c -- in a very easy to understand way. Granted, the topic of pointers is more advanced than what was covered in volume I, but that's why it's in volume II.

Honestly, if you can't understand the concept of pointers as explained in this book, you will not learn it from any book. Maybe the guy who wrote that review should go ask someone who knows what they're doing to explain it to him.

On a final note, after you've finished this book, if you want to continue your programming career, pick up an advanced C book. I'ver heard very good things about The [ANSI] C Programming Language by K & R; it would be a good place to start.

As soon as you pick up these excelent books and begin to read them you realize why the ratings are so high. Nothing in the book ever gets over your head, and I know, this was the first programming book I ever read. At the time I didn't know C was one of the more advanced progamming languages there were. I read both of them throughly, with Dan Gookin's charming humor and antics it was hard to put down, and understood perfectly (At the time I was 13!) I really can't say enough about these books, if you want to learn how to program C, or program period for that matter, these are the books for you (and at the price they are now why not!?)

Cheers,

Dan Fan

Overall, this two volume set does a very good job of easing the reader into the various rules and constructs of C programming. The examples are easy to follow, and the chapters generally flow together well, keeping the student interested (rather than making him/her more and more frustrated). Also the author has a sense of humor, which he is none to shy about using.

However, I have two complaints:

1. The afore-mentioned humor is used a little too liberally. It can be distracting when you're trying to get your head around some of the more difficult concepts and the author interjects with random humor. I find this to be a little gratituitous, even though I like the author's style in general. This is C programming, not the Gong Show ( I think I just dated myself).

2. The cover or snyopsis of this book needs to describe the target audience more clearly. This is not just for people learning C, it's for people learning C on a Microsoft or Borland compiler (read: Windows only). For those learning C on a UNIX or Macintosh platform, there are several examples used in the book that will result in errors if you don't know which header files to use (in place of the ones the book suggest). Ultimately, it's good practice to find out which header files are needed for your platform and your programs, but I wish the author would've added some Mac and UNIX-specific bulletins throughout the book.

All in all though, this two volume set is a good way to learn C if you're using a Windows-based compiler. I am not a programmer by trade, but I got through the first volume (494 pages) in less than a week.

That said, if you are of sound mind and perhaps a little daring, I would recommend the ANSI C "Bible" by Kernighan and Ritchie as an alternative to Gookin's book. While there isn't as much hand-holding by any means, the examples are equally good and the topics flow together a little more logically. That's to say nothing of the fact that the book is considered to be THE definitive language reference for ANSI C.

I know every one thinks that they could just start of with C++. Well listen to this....I have read 7 books on c and C++. I know from my experience, that it is easier to learn C++ if you know C. And if you combine C and C++....is the same thing as dos, and windows. Now thats power!!

I think thats those 2 volumes are the best books on C on the whole planet!! The author is so g-d damn funny. You will never fall asleep with this book. PERFECT FOR BEGINERS, BUT A REFERANCE FOR THE REST OF US. Buy it...you wont be sorry.

Don't get me wrong - this is a 5 star book! It does what it claims to do - teach you C. However, let me tell you something: Don't learn C! I have over 15 years experience in C/C++, and let me say that if you want to learn a programming language, learn C++! Don't bother learning C. It will only confuse you.

It is like spending all of your time learning "A" language, while "B" language is the language that is stronger, and really is the first choice for professional programmers.

The key is, that learning C and then learning C++ is NOT the way to go. Although both languages seem the same, their thinking is different.

So, if you want to start learning a language, start learning C++. You WON'T waste your time learning all the stuff C requires, and then have to UNLEARN it to try to understand C++.

Why not go straight to the source. By the way, C++ is really not that much harder than C, it's just different.

Compared to all the other C programming books I have come across, this has been the only book I have actually enjoyed reading. Although this book is aimed primarily at beginners it's gives you detailed information about the C programming language. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn C or actually any procedural language as it teaches concepts that are generic to most programming languages. What I learned from C for Dummies Volumes 1 and 2 allowed me to become proficient at Pascal programming much quicker than any other members of my programming class. Simply because after reading the book I was familiar with topics such as Arrays, Variables, Pointers, functions and parameter passing. Since reading C for Dummies I now understand most of the C programming information that is available for free on the Internet, thus allowing me to gain an understanding of Graphics programming, database and games programming. To be honest if I hadn't of read C for dummies I would not of decided to study Software Engineering. Well enough ranting, ill say it plain and simple, want to learn to program? Buy C for Dummies.

I am a systems integrator currently learning and sifting through
a few programming languages in a short period of time in an effort to find out which language best suites my needs as a POS
programmer. If you need to pick up the basics of the C language,
e.g. all the "keywords" what they mean and not all the teenage
academic snobbyism of most other books I have read(that do nothing but basically brag about how much they know about terminology and that using this word instead of that word is not
cool thing.) Dan rips on these people all through his book, that is probably what I liked most about it. It covers concepts in a slow highly detailed fashion. There is nothing left out of the C syntax that is not described in these books. All the questions that came to mind when reading the source code examples were eventually answered by the end of each chapter.
When I look at almost any c source I can successfully debug and
see what is happening. People that give these books bad reviews,
are obviously bratty little teenage kids that think that they are geniuses because they know C and that normal people can't learn it. Dan, I salute thee... A truly marvelous work of art.

I only have volume I - it doesn't make it as far as covering fairly standard stuff like "pointers." If your actually interested in learning the language you'll need both volumes.

This thing moves really slowly - they hardly make it past "hello wolrd" by page 75. Lots of time / space wasted by joking around (like half the text). May be good for people with no programming experience - but if you already know basic or something similar - you can probably make faster progress by choosing another book.

Dan Gookin is a genius. He started the dummies series(I think) with DOS for Dummies, which was incredible (though outdated). He takes technical writing to another level. I picked up this book a few years ago, after I had tried a more text-book like book to learn C. What a differance in styles. I laughed out loud more than once, and picked up everything very quickly. I do agree with the people that say he goes a bit slow, but its not that bad. I have read many other programming books since, but I found nothing that compares, even in the Dummies series.

As to the people that say don't bother learning 'C', just learn 'C++'. It is much easier to go from C to C++, and C is still commonly used in the workplace still, not to mention 'legacy' code.

A tip: when done with this book, do not buy C++ for dummies, it is terrible.

Gookin - Keep writing!

Many people loved this book, but most experienced C programmers do not recommend it (and they do not recommend Schildt books either).

Gookin's book is not meant for aspiring professional programmers. Rather, it is meant for people that wish to learn programming as a hobby. The author does not distinguish between ANSI C (standard C) and vendor-specific functions such as getch(). This is fine for non-professional programmers, but professionals should learn ANSI C before getting involved with non-standard functions. And the books faults go far beyond "void main()".

I see many twelve to fifteen year olds enjoyed this book (I am fifteen myself and thought two years ago that I knew C after reading the book) and are interested in serious programming; that is fine, but this book does not teach C. After reading this book, I recommend lurking comp.lang.c , reading the c.l.c FAQ, and reading The C Programming Language, Second Edition by Kernighan and Ritchie (K&R2). K&R2 is not an easy book, but it is the definitive C book and is very rewarding to finish (also do the excercises). That will get you on the right path.

Gookin's book *is* clear and easy, but it is not the best introductory book for serious programmers. See the FAQ for recommended books (also see comp.lang.learn-c, or something like that). I give one star because when I reviewed this book a year and a half ago I gave it five. It certainly does not deserve five, but it is worth more than one.