C for Dummies, Volume One & Two Bundle (Paperback)

by Dan Gookin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Dan Gookin's C for Dummies is a two-volume tutorial for beginner C programmers that looks at the basics of programming from the ground up. It moves at a slow, but very logical, pace. If you've ever found traditional C programming books too hard, these two books might be worth a look. The author takes great care in presenting the basics of programming from the ground up and avoids complicated math and syntax wherever possible. The first volume covers the fundamentals of the language, such as basic language constructs, variable types, functions, program logic, looping, and simple console I/O. The second half presents more ANSI C functions, arrays, and strings. Only then does the author take on the difficulties of C pointers. The tutorial closes with some file I/O and the basics of using multi-file projects. Throughout these two books, the author succeeds in making programming fun with a lot of humor (including comics) and as little jargon as possible. The technical information is in there too, between the lines, in separate sections. Each chapter ends with a quiz to make sure you are getting all the basics of programming in C (answers are included at the end of volume two). Plenty of source code is provided for all examples. All in all, this set provides a really successful introduction to C programming, which can succeed where other tutorials fail. If you've been stumped by other introduction to C texts, check out these two books.

Product Description
Programmers won't want to miss out on this special two-volume set! This hot new bundle contains practically everything a C programmer needs to know about using C. The set contains C For Dummies, Volume One, which has been completely updated, as well as the all new C For Dummies, Volume Two.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 1152 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (April 24, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568849397
• ISBN-13: 978-1568849393
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #230,739 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a clarification, January 27, 2000

By	a c programmer (US) - See all my reviews

(five stars because I couldn't give it more) This set of books is THE way to learn C programming. A guy a few reviews back claimed volume II was useless because he couldn't understand pointers. I don't know about him, but the chapter on pointers was one of the best written in the book. It was a little lacking on the humor side, but it explained pointers -- one of the most complicated aspects of c -- in a very easy to understand way. Granted, the topic of pointers is more advanced than what was covered in volume I, but that's why it's in volume II.

Honestly, if you can't understand the concept of pointers as explained in this book, you will not learn it from any book. Maybe the guy who wrote that review should go ask someone who knows what they're doing to explain it to him.

On a final note, after you've finished this book, if you want to continue your programming career, pick up an advanced C book. I'ver heard very good things about The [ANSI] C Programming Language by K & R; it would be a good place to start.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best C Programming Books Out There, December 3, 2002

By	Dan Fan (over there) - See all my reviews

As soon as you pick up these excelent books and begin to read them you realize why the ratings are so high. Nothing in the book ever gets over your head, and I know, this was the first programming book I ever read. At the time I didn't know C was one of the more advanced progamming languages there were. I read both of them throughly, with Dan Gookin's charming humor and antics it was hard to put down, and understood perfectly (At the time I was 13!) I really can't say enough about these books, if you want to learn how to program C, or program period for that matter, these are the books for you (and at the price they are now why not!?)

Cheers,

Dan Fan

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Place to Start, July 31, 2001

By	CMOS (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

Overall, this two volume set does a very good job of easing the reader into the various rules and constructs of C programming. The examples are easy to follow, and the chapters generally flow together well, keeping the student interested (rather than making him/her more and more frustrated). Also the author has a sense of humor, which he is none to shy about using.

However, I have two complaints:

1. The afore-mentioned humor is used a little too liberally. It can be distracting when you're trying to get your head around some of the more difficult concepts and the author interjects with random humor. I find this to be a little gratituitous, even though I like the author's style in general. This is C programming, not the Gong Show ( I think I just dated myself).

2. The cover or snyopsis of this book needs to describe the target audience more clearly. This is not just for people learning C, it's for people learning C on a Microsoft or Borland compiler (read: Windows only). For those learning C on a UNIX or Macintosh platform, there are several examples used in the book that will result in errors if you don't know which header files to use (in place of the ones the book suggest). Ultimately, it's good practice to find out which header files are needed for your platform and your programs, but I wish the author would've added some Mac and UNIX-specific bulletins throughout the book.

All in all though, this two volume set is a good way to learn C if you're using a Windows-based compiler. I am not a programmer by trade, but I got through the first volume (494 pages) in less than a week.

That said, if you are of sound mind and perhaps a little daring, I would recommend the ANSI C "Bible" by Kernighan and Ritchie as an alternative to Gookin's book. While there isn't as much hand-holding by any means, the examples are equally good and the topics flow together a little more logically. That's to say nothing of the fact that the book is considered to be THE definitive language reference for ANSI C.