Mastering C Pointers, Second Edition: Tools for Programming Power [Paperback]

Author Unknown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1993 | ISBN-10: 0126974098 | ISBN-13: 978-0126974096 | Edition: 2

If you don't fully understand C pointers and how they are used, you're not getting the most out of C programming. This book features complete coverage on using and controlling C language pointers to make C applications more powerful and expressive. This new edition is completely updated and revised to reflect the changes that have been brought about with the full adoption of ANSI C. All discussions and program examples have been updated, and reading materials necessary for any modern ANSI C programmer have also been added.

Includes one 3 1/2" disk containing all of the working programs and modules found in the book.
System Requirements: 286 or higher IBM PC or compatible.


* Includes three entirely new chapters and many new or revised programs covering the latest techniques and advances in C
* Provides a 3.5" disk containing all of the working programs and modules found within the text
* Explains pointers in a friendly, easy-to-follow style to allow for quick implentation of new techniques
* Serves as a useful tool to both beginning and intermediate programmers for mastering pointers
* Includes numerous examples to provide continued reinforcement of techniques

Product Details

• Paperback: 163 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press; 2 edition (October 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0126974098
• ISBN-13: 978-0126974096
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,704,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Presents an Excellent Review of C Pointers, February 15, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mastering C Pointers, Second Edition: Tools for Programming Power (Paperback)

The material which this book presents on C pointers must, I repeat, MUST, be thoroughly mastered and understood before a beginning C programmer can become a serious professional. This book will provide that mastery. If every piece of C code which I have seen had been programmed by someone who had thoroughly and completely understood how to use C pointers, then the vast majority, if not all, of the memory leaks and other memory related problems in those programs would never have seen the light of day. Particularly useful is the discussion about uninitialized versus initialized pointers, pointer indirection, and addresses (constant pointers). The book is best summed up by a single sentence on page 77: "Always know where and to what your pointers point." Although this book lacks the glitz and polish of other comparable books on C, it is clearly a must read. As a C programming professional, I highly recommend this book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is a good resource for novice C programmers, June 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Mastering C Pointers, Second Edition: Tools for Programming Power (Paperback)

As a novice C programmer I found Robert Traisters book Mastering C Pointers useful for demystifying the use of C pointers. Especially valuable were the examples showing the importance of coding style and the use of spaces for making C code comprehensible. His comment towards the end about the importance of commenting code and using good structure was priceless. It goes something like this (I will paraphrase). Frequently it is stated that comments and good coding structure are essential to assist the programmer who comes along in a few months and gets stuck maintaining a piece of code. With C programming comments and good coding structure are essential ... so the progammer can understand his own code after coming back from coffee ... It is so true!

4.0 out of 5 stars Walk before you can run, May 3, 2009

By 

bernie "xyzzy" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mastering C Pointers, Second Edition: Tools for Programming Power (Paperback)

Do not miss this jewel. It is a tad dated; so that is why I just stumbled across it. Moreover, it does have a few faux pas; however, they will not get in the way of learning the basic concepts needed to master the language.

By concentrating on the concepts of pointers and filtering out all the peripheral clutter involved in today's complex programming environment we can get a strong grasp of pointers and see the patterns automatically without having to translate the symbols as some foreign language.

For people who are just casually interested, in pointers there is an added bonus of reading about compilers and companies that and long gone but made their mark in history.

Using OpenMP: Portable Shared Memory Parallel Programming (Scientific and Engineering Computation)