C Primer Plus (5th Edition) (Paperback)

by Stephen Prata (Author) "Welcome to the world of C-a vigorous, professional programming language popular with amateur and commercial programmers alike..." (more)
Key Phrases: flexible array member, restrict endptr, null wide character, Reference Section, General Comments, Nerfville Pet Club (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The new classic! C Primer Plus, now in its 5th edition, has been revised to include over 20 new programming exercises, newly improved examples and the new ANSI/ISO standard, C99. Task-oriented examples will teach you the fundamentals of C programming. From extended integer types and compound literals to Boolean support and variable-length arrays, you will learn to create practical and real-world applications with C programming. Review questions and programming exercises at the end of each chapter will reinforce what you have learned. This friendly and easy-to-use self-study guide will help you understand the fundamentals of this core programming language.

About the Author

Stephen Prata teaches astronomy, physics, and programming at the College of Marin in Kentfield, California. He received his B.S. from the California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. His association with computers began with the computer modeling of star clusters. Stephen has authored or coauthored over a dozen books, including C++ Primer Plus and Unix Primer Plus.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 984 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 5 edition (December 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672326965
• ISBN-13: 978-0672326967
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,999 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A for content, F for the lack of differences from the 4th, January 4, 2005

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

In the fall of 2004, I used the fourth edition of "C Primer Plus" as the text for my class in introductory programming in C. Although I was not part of the decision to use it, I found it to be more than satisfactory. The explanations are detailed and the order of the coverage is appropriate, although like almost everyone else, I altered the order of presentation a bit. It covers what we commonly refer to as "plain vanilla C"; in other words programs run from a command line interface. The coverage is complete, everything that one would cover in any beginning course in C is present. The exercises and programming examples are generally well done, and the answers to the review questions are included.
In looking through the fifth edition, I found very little that was different from the fourth edition. The order of the material and the explanations are almost identical. Therefore, my evaluation of the book is a bit different. I give it poor marks as a new edition, as I did not see anything that justified publishing a new edition. However, since the fourth edition worked so well, this one is also a good choice for learning C. Therefore, my rating of this book is simultaneously an A for content and an F in terms of being justified.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many years but still going strong!, December 16, 2004

By	Roberto Pippalada "Imastun" (La Crescenta, CA) - See all my reviews

Excellent book that withstood the test of the time. Incidentally it has also sentimental value for me because many years ago, when I started my journey into progamming and had my first programming course in C itself, this book came to the rescue.

The course textbook was a different one, which after the first couple of introductury chapters became vague. Especially on pointers it lost me.

Then... I got this book. It started to read like an obsessive page turner. Once I reached the chapter on pointers I was amazed more-the topic in fact was extremly simple. I got very curious of the guys background. When I looked up that he was a physicist by upbringing, the great quality of the book made sence right away.


In one word, this book is THE BOOK as a first book in C, especially for new programmers.

After that ancient times, I red many C books of different complexity and scope, but this book still remains among few of my favorits for its lucid and extremly understandable coverage.

As you can guess, the book has a sentimental value for me.

In fact, if you have older version, especially last two, then there is no compelling reason to upgrade to this version.

Have you finished the book?
Now you are ready to enjoy the succinct C Programming Language, by Brian W. Kernighan, the author of C

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for learning C, October 26, 2006

By	Tyler Milam - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I looked very hard to find the best possible book for learning C. It would be nice if you could absorb new programming languages through osmosis, but it doesn't work that way. Some people will tell you to buy the K&R book, but that's pretty old! This book covers the C99 standard, which is the latest. I've read my share of awful programming books and can tell the difference.

C Primer Plus, 5th edition provides clear and detailed explanations of all concepts covered, as well as review questions and programming excercises at the end of each chapter. As any serious programmer knows, you can't learn just by reading. You have to DO the excercises. I regard the excercises a book has to offer as just as important as the material covered. The excercises in the Big Blue Book are varied and just challenging enough to really get you to remember what you read in each chapter. If you follow through with this book you WILL have a solid foundation in the C programming language.