Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader

Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets 1st Edition

by
Peter van der Linden (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Peter van der Linden Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Peter van der Linden (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 134 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0131774292
ISBN-10: 0131774298
Why is ISBN important?
ISBN
This bar-code number lets you verify that you're getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. The 13-digit and 10-digit formats both work.
Scan an ISBN with your phone
Use the Amazon App to scan ISBNs and compare prices.
Trade in your item
Get a $9.17
Gift Card.
Trade in
Learn More
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Facebook Twitter Pinterest <Embed>
Buy new
$40.53
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
List Price: $42.99 Save: $2.46 (6%)
36 New from $30.83
Free Shipping for Prime Members | Fast, FREE Shipping with Amazon Prime
Expert C Programming: Dee... has been added to your Cart
More Buying Choices
36 New from $30.83 40 Used from $24.92
76 used & new from $24.92
See All Buying Options
Free Two-Day Shipping for College Students with Prime Student Free%20Two-Day%20Shipping%20for%20College%20Students%20with%20Amazon%20Student

Save up to 87% on Textbook Rentals Rent Textbooks
$40.53 Free Shipping for Prime Members | Fast, FREE Shipping with Amazon Prime In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
click to open popover

Frequently Bought Together

  • Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets
  • +
  • The C Programming Language
Total price: $93.42
Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Back
  1. The Standard C Library
    P.J. Plauger
    4.4 out of 5 stars 33
    Paperback
    $71.12 Prime
  2. C: A Reference Manual (5th Edition)
    Samuel P. Harbison
    4.3 out of 5 stars 75
    Paperback
    $52.79 Prime
  3. 21st Century C: C Tips from the New School
    Ben Klemens
    4.0 out of 5 stars 50
    Paperback
    $39.51 Prime
  4. The C Programming Language
    Brian W. Kernighan
    4.6 out of 5 stars 638
    #1 Best Seller in C Programming Language
    Paperback
    $52.89 Prime
  5. C Interfaces and Implementations: Techniques for Creating Reusable Software
    David R. Hanson
    3.8 out of 5 stars 24
    Paperback
    $44.81 Prime
  6. Understanding and Using C Pointers: Core Techniques for Memory Management
    Richard M Reese
    4.5 out of 5 stars 42
    #1 Best Seller in Memory Management Algorithms
    Paperback
    $31.81 Prime
Next

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Read more

From the Back Cover

Read more
See all Editorial Reviews
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
New York Times best sellers
Browse the New York Times best sellers in popular categories like Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Books and more. See more

Product Details

  • Paperback: 353 pages
  • Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1st edition (June 24, 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0131774298
  • ISBN-13: 978-0131774292
  • Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.7 x 9.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (134 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsProvides great detail on C's dustier corners
By SciFi Fan on May 31, 2000
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This book exposes many C programming language obscurities - particularly related to pointers, memory usage, and compiling. All of these things are things that you need in order to become an advanced C programmer.
This book is full of little nuggets. I keep it by my desk, and when I have a free moment, I turn to a page at random and read the section that catches my eye. It is a great way to learn something new or reinforce something you know.
If you are looking for a "bag of tricks" book with canned routines, this is not the book for you. For a good bag of tricks, check out "Mastering Algorithms with C," ISBN 1-56592-453-3.
Comment 57 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsWhy can't more programming books be like this?
By Douglas Welzel on October 23, 2001
Format: Paperback
This title has been sitting on my shelf for years, but for some reason I decided to start flipping through it the other day. It's sad to admit this, but I couldn't put it down! I really wish I had taken the time to read this years ago.
In a reasonably short title, this book covers more about the nooks and crannies of C than almost any other book I have come across -- and does it in a way that keeps the reader's attention. Subtle aspects of the language are presented in detail and accompanied by interesting stories and suggestions (called "Handy Heuristics" in the book) for improving your own code.
The book then steps a bit outside of the language to explain (briefly) how linkers work and how executable are structured. This information helps to round out the language specific material and is something you won't find in too many other places.
The only downside to this title is that the information is probably a bit dated and somewhat Sun specific. However, I wouldn't let either of these items prevent you from adding this to your software development collection.
Comment 44 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsSomewhat dated, a few minor problems, but worth reading
By Alex G. on November 20, 2011
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Peter van der Linden's "Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets", published in 1994, is already a classic. It explicitly assumes the reader knows how to program in C (according to the author, this "should be every programmer's second book on C"). In that sense, it is similar to Scott Meyers' "Effective C++" (originally published in 1991). Of course, C is a much smaller language than C++ but, even so, it does have some non-trivial aspects, which are precisely what van der Linden zeroes in on. Given the nature of this text, any review of its good and bad points needs to get down to the nitty-gritty.

The Good: Dennis Ritchie, in his essay on "The Development of the C language", wrote that "Two ideas are most characteristic of C among languages of its class: the relationship between arrays and pointers, and the way in which declaration syntax mimics expression syntax." In the book under review, van der Linden is at his finest when discussing precisely these two topics. Starting with arrays & pointers: the book includes 3 chapters on the subject, first tackling the classic "defined as array / external declaration as pointer" problem. Later, the author returns to the root of the confusion, namely that even though arrays and pointers are distinct entities in declarations/definitions, there is one major exception: a function can have an array parameter, but the argument will be converted to a pointer before the call (though this rule isn't recursive). As a result, even though arrays are not modifiable lvalues, you can use assignment inside a function since the argument will have been converted to a pointer.Read more ›
Comment 33 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsRequired reading for aspiring C experts
By Hollister Herhold on March 16, 2000
Format: Paperback
A short aside on the author - Peter van der Linden is probably one of the better technical writers out there. Both this book and "Just Java" are a pleasure to read. He's also a good public speaker, if you get a chance to see him in the valley.
Where this book stands out is its lucid explanations of "under the hood" material. What really happens when your program is loaded in? Why aren't pointers and arrays the same? (Bet you thought they were.) This book explains it all.
The section on interview questions is required reading for interviewers and interviewees alike.
In short, a great book. My dog-eared copy has been handed around the office so many times that I had to take it back and force everyone else to get their own copy (which they quickly did).
Only one minor gripe - there are a number of typos in the printing I have. Peter is VERY good about posting errata on his website however, so I can't let this detract from my 5 star rating.
Comment 27 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsThis book will teach you something new
By James C. Smith on October 12, 2000
Format: Paperback
As the name implies, this book in not a tutorial or an introduction to C. It is for people that already know C and know it well. No matter how much you know about C, this book will teach you something new. Peter has been working at Sun writing C compilers and using C for years so he really knows what he is talking about. He covers using C in both a UNIX and PC environment. Peter exposes a lot of the shortcoming of C and problems you should watch out for such as incorrect operator presidencies, falling through case statements, and how arrays and pointers are NOT the same. The book also has a lot of great history about C including stories like the "software that blew up the space probe to Venus" and "The C bug that shut down the entire AT&T phone system."
One of the things I like best about this book is the authors style and sense of humor. Here is a quote from the author on this subject. "Few authors convey the idea that anyone might enjoy programming. All the wonderment was squeezed out by long boring passages of prose. Useful perhaps, if you can stay awake long enough to read it. But programming isn't like that. Programming is a marvelous, vital, challenging activity, and books on programming should brim over with enthusiasm for it."
In addition to all the talk about C, there is also one chapter about C++ which gives you brief introduction to OOP concepts, terminology, and how it is all used is C++. Not only does Peter teach you how to use these things, he also explains how the compiler implements them. He, then goes on to explain the answer to the question, "Just what is a protected abstract virtual base pure virtual private destuctor, and when was the last time you needed one."
This book is great for anyone hat knows a lot about C but want to know it all.
Comment 15 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A must have for anyone who wants to program in C.

Published 1 month ago by Patrick Mitrik
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Arrived as described within the estimated delivery time frame. Well written and engaging.

Published 3 months ago by BJ
5.0 out of 5 starsGoes best with wine

My book is falling apart but I cherish it and put the pages back many times. It is clear this cat has been thru the fire at Sun! Goes best with wine! God bless!

Published 4 months ago by D. liverman
1.0 out of 5 starsVery poor print quality

The inside looks as if this book was faxed to the print shop and the orange ink of the cover rubbed off on the two other books I ordered. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Robert
3.0 out of 5 starsThree Stars

This book looks like too much old from what people use now on C language.

Published 5 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Old book, but still vastly relevant if you are programming in C today.

Published 5 months ago by ShutterBug
5.0 out of 5 starsGood book

Clear exposition and fun anecdotal tangents.

Published 5 months ago by Stephen R Garth
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat read!

This is the most insightful book on C that you can probably get. It is an honest and entertaining book from a person that was involved in C from its birth. Great read!

Published 6 months ago by augre
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great job!

Published 7 months ago by Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 starsOne Star

The printing quality is very poor, difficult to read.

Published 8 months ago by deardream

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway
This item: Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets
Set up a giveaway

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.

Pages with Related Products. See and discover other items: c language