Customer Reviews

C How to Program, 2nd Edition

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I love a book that is not afraid to slow down to actually teach you something. The authors have done everything successfully, from grouping the topics, to ordering the flow of the chapters, to the code itself. The tips and pitfalls provide sanity checks for common mistakes, and to the attentive reader should save lots of time.

True, this book may not delve deeply into all the obscurities that C/C++ has to offer, but for its purposes as 1) a tutorial, 2) an introduction to programming, and 3) an accessible treatment of 95% of C/C++, it works! (It is probably advisable to avoid the abstruse 5% anyway.) I still reference this book occasionally, so it's an enduring text.

Other books, such as the 21 Days series, gloss over the details and give the reader the false notion s/he has achieved some sort of quick mastery. Afterwards, you may as well throw it out because it is useful only once. On the other end of the spectrum, is the C++ Primer, written by Stanley Lippman. That text reeks of loftiness and obscurity. After you've programmed C/C++ for a few years, put that book on your shelf to impress others.

But if you like learning and want to experience the fun that is C/C++ programming, go with Deitel & Deitel.

I am currently using this book for my CS150 class at WSU. A very informative book to say the least but for those beginners out there I would recommend a book more oriented to beginner programmers. I will say that the only way I'm making it through this class is with the help of this book. Many examples, with just enough explanation and you should pick up the concepts in no time.

This book was designed to be a classroom text, and because of such it contains a great many exercises at the end of each chapter. Which is great for the 'classroom setting.' However, for the person who just buys this book off the shelf to learn on thier own, those exercises are virtually useless because the CD that contains the answers is only available to instructors. To me, this is about like selling someone a car without any tires. This is a great book, and I would have easily given it a 10, but because I'm trying to do this on my own and don't have access to the answers, I'm forced to give it a 5.

I first read this book during my first course on C programming. In my opinion, this is an excellent introductry book on the subject of programming, not necessary for C alone.

It contains a lot of useful hints, pitfalls and common mistake people do in C programming or programming in general. These are necessary (in my opinion) in establishing a good programming practice, though it may not suit those who want a crash course on C programming, or who want to use it as a source of reference. I personally find the section on pointers very helpful.

I recommend this book for beginners who really want to become a good programmer, not just programmer.

I have found this book quite excellent in that it uses clear and understandable language to preach a difficult programming language. I definitely never studied computer in my college(I got two BAs which now I usually find outdated in present 'technologized' world). The book is good, but it does not provide enough exercises with explainations! Many of the exercises are really time-consuming and frustrating, maybe not for classroom learners, but for a dedicated self-learner, it represents quite a bumpy journey. Anyhow, I think I will carry on.

This is one of the few programming books I own that clearly explains the concepts of the language it's referring to. It explains each example and offers good programming ideas as well as common programming mistakes. Excellent if you wish to learn the important aspects of C without reading a great deal of arduous technical text.

I am an aerospace engineer learning some computational methods in fluid dynamics and I started to learn C programming with this book. I was a complete beginner and with the use of this book I can really say to have gained a fair knowledge of C programming.

I had to teach from this book, and was extremely disappointed in so many ways. Their chapter (7) on \pointers barely scratched the surface of memory management in C. Additionally, the book does a poor job in de\monstrating weak typing in C. The worst parts of the book, however, are the numerous code examples. My stude\ nts, much to their frustration and my shock, even stumbled across one that failed to compile! Aside from this\ , the code examples are written sloppily, without much regard for readability or an eye towards industry codin\ g standards. This book should be removed from the shelves as soon as possible! The only virtue contained in \ it is a pretty fair section dealing with output formats. Otherwise, it is a menace to the profession, teachin\ g poor coding style and brushing off the most powerful aspects of the C programming language.

Good book, except, like others, I'm wondering if there is a book that contains the solutions to all the exercises?

I 'm an unexperienced programer at Briarcliff College, who found Deitel and Deitel's book on C How To Program a very saturated and difficult book to read. I , with many of my class mates agree that this book is poor and not for begginers. Think twice before you buy. Diane Zak is a better choice.