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C: A Reference Manual (5th Edition) [Paperback]

Samuel P. Harbison , Guy L. Steele Jr.
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)

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Book Description

March 3, 2002 013089592X 978-0130895929 5

This authoritative reference manual provides a complete description of the C language, the run-time libraries, and a style of C programming that emphasizes correctness, portability, and maintainability. The authors describe the C language more clearly and in more detail than in any other book.


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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

You can find bigger books about C, but you won't find one as authoritative or helpful as this reference manual. Harbison and Steele have now gone through four editions and are beginning to cover language differences which can surprise the experienced C coder moving to C++. As always, the authors do an excellent job of explaining what's standard and what it replaces. No hairy syntax has been omitted, so this volume can make wending one's way through obfuscated code, if not pleasant, at least less miserable. Whether you learned C from Kernighan or some massive tome, you'll want this volume as your day-to-day reference. And you won't mind buying a new edition once in a while, because you'll have worn the old one out by then. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

This fourth edition of the bestselling C reference covers two important developments: the ISO C Amendment 1 (1994), which specifies new facilities for writing portable, international programs in C; and a discussion of how to write C programs that are compatible with C++. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 560 pages
  • Publisher: Prentice Hall; 5 edition (March 3, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 013089592X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0130895929
  • Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

An must-have reference book for every serious C programmer. shark  |  10 reviewers made a similar statement
You don't have to be a compiler writer to get useful and practical information from this book. Kevin J. Schmidt  |  4 reviewers made a similar statement
It's too easy to find a function, read a good description and a small but useful example.. Giovanni P. Tirloni  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
106 of 109 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reference for C (and C++) programmers October 22, 1999
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've never understood why this book hasn't gotten more attention, so I'll add my vote to the others.

I'm a professional software developer (MFC, C++, and C). I first learned C in about 1992 using Kernighan and Ritchie, the only other C book you ever need to buy.

I own several other C books, but have found that C ARM is the only one I ever use. Everything is there, in enough detail to answer every question I've ever had about C. The book even covers earlier versions of the language, if you're stuck with an older compiler (or need to port some older code).

Secondly, the book is detailed and strict. Short of checking the actual standards documents, I know of no better way to answer those nit-picky language-lawyer questions that _will_ pop up sooner or later. I use a reference for those things that _don't_ pop up every day, and hence aren't usually covered in a tutorial book. They're in C ARM.

C++ programmers should own a copy of C ARM, too. C is, after all, a "subset" of C++. However, C++ is such a huge language that the standard C++ reference/tutorials like Stroustrup (my preference), or Lippman and Lajoie, leave full coverage of C to other books. That's where C ARM comes in. No, you're not supposed to use printf() in C++ applications, but people do and you may well have to debug their code. If that's not convincing, recall that level of detail that I mentioned above. Stroustrup doesn't even have an ASCII table.

Again, this is definitely not a primer. It is a reference for experienced C programmers. Buy K&R if you want to learn C.

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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A reference + more September 14, 2003
By Gerry
Format:Paperback
My friend borrowed this book from me about two weeks ago and won't give it back, I have since turned to my left side over 20 times looking for it to no avail (serious). If I was to describe this book in one word it would be "Clean", everything in this book is just beautiful, from the ease of use, to the technical details, to even it's fonts and thickness of the pages, everything is so clean and precise that the book makes you want to read it and perhaps even keep it on a pillow next to you at night (but enough about my sheltered life).

One thing that I did not expect before receiving this book was the amazing language overview that comes with the book, they could have sold the book with just that part and it would have still been great. The overview goes into great detail and is really good at pointing out things that other C books miss and the fact that the author is well versed on all the features of the latest C99 Standard adds even more to the wealth of information. My favorite part of the book is the part on the C Pre-processor, which had a great deal of information that I was not previously aware of.

Apart from that, there is the reference side which has all the detail you could ever want in a standard library reference book, all in a very simple to search format (Oh yeah and I should mention, the index kicks ....).

So long story short, if you want a single book that you can turn to for 99.9% of your standard C problems, divorce your wife and give that spot in your bed to "C: A Reference Manual (5th Edition)"... or 6th if it's out by the time you read this review.

ps. If your looking for this book in a bookstore make sure the lady types in "C: A Reference Manual (5th Edition)" and not "See: A Reference Manual (5th Edition)", long story, I'll tell you another time.

Hope you enjoyed reading this

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36 of 38 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book on C January 30, 2002
Format:Paperback
This is absolutely the best book on the C language I've ever seen. The coverage is complete and detailed, the appendices accurarately and succinctly detail the ANSI standard C libraries. Basically, if you're writing C code, you need this book. It's displaced K&R on my desk as my C reference; it's easier to read and better organized.

Be forewarned, this is not a tutorial. It's aimed at someone who already knows the language, and needs a detailed description for those nagging questions you can't answer anyplace else.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Print quality is awful
No questions to the contents, it is great, and book serves be very good and is always on my desk when I am writing the C code. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Victor Farazdagi
5.0 out of 5 stars Best C Reference By Far
I've coded about 100,000 lines of C and used every single reference there is. Harbison and Steele have created the best C reference manual. That's all you need to know.
Published 24 months ago by Warren F. Seltzer
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book, low print quality
Harbison & Steele is a very good, modern and complete C language reference. Quality-wise it is in the same league as Kernighan & Ritchie book. Read more
Published on April 10, 2011 by L. Razoumov
1.0 out of 5 stars Might be useful if you can decipher it.
I come from a strong C++ background. I picked this book up because I needed to give myself a crash course on what limits C has relative to C++. Read more
Published on February 21, 2011 by Graeme P. Swallow
5.0 out of 5 stars must-have
An must-have reference book for every serious C programmer.
You can do without the K&R, but you can't do whithout the Harbison-Steele. Read more
Published on January 31, 2011 by shark
2.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Content. Horrible publishing
I've been using the Harrison/Steele manual (4th ed.) for years. As a reference manual, it is unsurpassed. Read more
Published on August 20, 2010 by S. Hillbrand
5.0 out of 5 stars the best C book for a professional
If you haven't programmed before, not a book for you (but then, C is not the language for you). If you do have experience, and think mathematically (that is, you value precision... Read more
Published on May 27, 2010 by Narada
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent but needs updating
If you don't already have this reference and are a professional C programmer, you better get it NOW!!! Read more
Published on October 4, 2009 by Grant
5.0 out of 5 stars About those index omissions...
The "most helpful critical review" reviewer claims the index is incomplete. An example refers to the word "const", which the reviewer claims has its own section (4.4. Read more
Published on August 7, 2009 by Mark Dale
5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing reference manual
To be honest, I haven't done a lot of C programming. But when I need to, this is the place to go. It has reference material for just about anything you can imagine about the C... Read more
Published on December 30, 2008 by Aaron Smith
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