The Joy of C, 3rd Edition [Paperback]

Lawrence H. Miller (Author), Alexander E. Quilici (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 047112933X | ISBN-13: 978-0471129332 | Publication Date: January 16, 1997 | Edition: 3

Written in a friendly tone, it shows readers how to write clear, concise programs that make maximum use of the power of C. It also details how to put together large programs, how to produce portable and efficient code, and how to use pointers to effectively organize and access data. The text begins with a gentle tutorial overview of C that introduces the basics of C programming. Then each topic is discussed in detail, with complete coverage of advanced data types and advanced program organization. Once the power of C is unveiled, the text arms readers with over 200 useful programs and functions, including a base converter, a histogram producer, and C program cross-references, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book shows readers how to write clear, concise programs that make maximum use of the power of C. It also details how to put together large programs, how to produce portable and efficient code and how to use pointers to effectively organize and access data. The text begins with a gentle tutorial overview of C that introduces the basics of C programming. Then each topic is discussed in detail, with complete coverage of advanced data types and advanced program organization. The text arms readers with over 200 useful programs and functions including a base converter, a histogram producer and C program cross-references and more. It includes a programming disk that allows readers to check the programs they've written for immediate feedback. Over 60 "warning" boxes illustrate potential trouble spots when programming in C. A quick and thorough introduction to C++, including advanced features such as encapsulation and C++ compilers, is provided. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 816 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 3 edition (January 16, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047112933X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471129332
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #511,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent coverage with lots of real-world examples, March 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Joy of C, 3rd Edition (Paperback)

Most books on programming that I have read use 'snippets' of code to demonstrate concepts. This is fine for someone with a grasp of underlying concepts, but useless to novices and students attempting to learn C for the first time. The main problem is lack of context... most of these 'snippets' merely demonstrate _syntax_ Joy of C uses samples that are part of an actual program so that the student may benefit from seeing how 'it all fits together'. The samples are not abstract, they are actually useful. Most of the exercises are extensions of previous programs, demonstrating the iterative process of programming where we take smaller programs that work and slowly add functionality. The authors have a website that provide solutions to many of the exercises, providing guidance when needed. Most of the code compiles and runs. The book covers alot of information, so some of the explanations aren't as detailed or simple as they could be. I believe that some basic grasp of programming concepts would make the book easier to digest, and would recommend it as a second book for students who have never done any programming at all. I highly recommend it to anyone with some programming experience as a means of learning C.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb teaching technique !, July 8, 2001

By 

Book worm "Jani" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Joy of C, 3rd Edition (Paperback)

I just bought the book a month ago, but already had 3 other titles previously. The thing that impressed me the most is the authors' style of teaching. So many examples, carefully starting from the basics down to a more complicated version of it, adding little snippets that makes one fully understands why a certain statement do what it does when compiled and run. My only regret is that I should have bought this book while I was in college or before I bought the 3 titles before it. This is a type of book in C that made me think a lot about the logic behind each example's functionality even when I'm not reading it and always makes me compare it with the other titles. Now I'm really excited to finish the book and try all the examples and exercises that goes with it, because honestly, I'm not yet an advanced C programmer, so any help from any book is very well appreciated.

Thank you Mr. Miller & Mr. Quilici for this wonderfully laid-out book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good, thorough introduction to the language, October 10, 1999

By 

Jeff Gilles (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Joy of C, 3rd Edition (Paperback)

I picked up this book as someone with no programming experience to speak of. After working through it for a month, I thoroughly understood all of the major concepts in C. The presentation is thorough and interesting. While this wouldn't be my first choice as a C reference to have around, it is a good read (a feat for a technical book of this nature) which offers tons of examples of actual implementation of concepts. I would recommend it to anyone with an analytical mind, looking to break into the world of programming in C.