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C Programming Language, 2nd Edition 2nd Edition

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 4,140 ratings

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The authors present the complete guide to ANSI standard C language programming. Written by the developers of C, this new version helps readers keep up with the finalized ANSI standard for C while showing how to take advantage of C's rich set of operators, economy of expression, improved control flow, and data structures. The 2/E has been completely rewritten with additional examples and problem sets to clarify the implementation of difficult language constructs. For years, C programmers have let K&R guide them to building well-structured and efficient programs. Now this same help is available to those working with ANSI compilers. Includes detailed coverage of the C language plus the official C language reference manual for at-a-glance help with syntax notation, declarations, ANSI changes, scope rules, and the list goes on and on.


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Popular Highlights in this book

From the Publisher

C Programming Language on stack of stack of books

One of the Most Recommended Programming Books of All Time

"It is hard for me to describe just how profoundly that book affected my career. I remember reading it by a campfire in my back yard—my original still smells of smoke—puzzling over the code, and standing to cheer for the concepts. The simple elegance of the writing; the pragmatic outlook of the authors; the sheer beauty of the language thrilled me as no language had before—or has since."

Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin, author of Clean Code.

"K&R is one of my favorite books. The style of the tutorial chapters is so deceptively light and simple and the manual so crisp. Much of C's reputation of simplicity comes from the clarity and great little examples from this book. My 1978 copy has lost its cover and my K&R2 is somewhat dog eared. Above all, K&R is a useful book."

Bjarne Stroustrup, designer and original implementer of C++, and author of The C++ Programming Language

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Just about every C programmer I respect learned C from this book. Unlike many of the 1,000 page doorstops stuffed with CD-ROMs that have become popular, this volume is concise and powerful (if somewhat dangerous) -- like C itself. And it was written by Kernighan himself. Need we say more?

From the Publisher

This second editon describes C as defined by the ANSI standard. This book is meant to help the reader learn how to program in C. The book assumes some familiarity with basic programming concepts like variables, assignment statements, loops, and functions. A novice programmer should be able to read along and pick up the language.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pearson; 2nd edition (March 22, 1988)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0131103628
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0131103627
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.19 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.9 x 0.6 x 9.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 4,140 ratings

About the author

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Brian W. Kernighan
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4,140 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book informative, thorough, and a solid resource to learn C. They also appreciate the writing style as clear, succinct, and easy to read. Readers describe the book as very worth the money and a priceless reference for C class. Opinions are mixed on the difficulty of the exercises, with some finding them fantastic and challenging, while others say they're difficult for beginners.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

156 customers mention "Reference value"133 positive23 negative

Customers find the book informative, thorough, and solid. They say it goes in depth into the C programming language and is good to know for embedded work. Readers also mention the book has plenty of code examples.

"...Neither complicated nor redundant. The examples are really great to illustrate the concept and some necessary programming skills...." Read more

"...chapters, the appendix follows in an amazingly compact, yet thorough reference, which includes a C grammar, overview of the standard libraries, and..." Read more

"...Working through these exercises has helped me with logical thinking and having a better understanding of coding closer to the machine has improved..." Read more

"...It has plenty of code examples for you but it doesn't ever hand you the solution to the problems it challenges you with...." Read more

113 customers mention "Writing style"103 positive10 negative

Customers find the writing style of the book to be succinct, clear, and easy to read. They say the explanations are good and the book is relatively approachable. Readers also mention the video tutorials are exceptional.

"...Neither complicated nor redundant. The examples are really great to illustrate the concept and some necessary programming skills...." Read more

"...Oftentimes, this reference is the most convenient and concise source for information (note that the C Standard is *the*..." Read more

"...But it won't be easy.The book is clearly written with good examples and exercises. Some of those exercises are pretty hard!..." Read more

"...Wrong! Picking up the syntax wasn't too difficult and I have a fairly good handle on more advanced concepts like pointers already, but this book is..." Read more

16 customers mention "Value for money"13 positive3 negative

Customers find the book very worth the money. They also say it's a priceless reference for C class.

"...Don't let the price fool you--The C Programming Language is worth its weight in gold!" Read more

"...Worth the money. Awesome book!" Read more

"...book is a good alternative to the original, authorized version and a lot cheaper...." Read more

"A great reference and learning book for an affordable price...." Read more

10 customers mention "Style"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the style of the book very approachable and straightforward. They appreciate the visual representations and sense of humor. Readers also mention the book is nice, informative, and complete about C.

"...The code examples provided are very helpful and exceptionally elegantly coded...." Read more

"...I have always had an interest in C because I love its simplicity...." Read more

"...one at that from a time when computers were arcane, but the style is very approachable...." Read more

"...The beauty of the book is discovered when the reader comes to understand that what is here somehow suffices.That said, this $#!..." Read more

12 customers mention "Exercise difficulty"6 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the difficulty of the exercises in the book. Some say they're fantastic and challenging, while others say they're difficult for beginners.

"...perfect blend of reference material, practical knowledge and challenging exercises. There is absolutely no fluff and not a single word is wasted...." Read more

"...Some of those exercises are pretty hard! I skipped most of them, because I have my own projects I want to do instead...." Read more

"...loops, etc within the first few chapters, with plenty of exercises to work through...." Read more

"...most junior members commented on was that the solutions to exercises were in another book that they had to purchase." Read more

Worth The Money
4 out of 5 stars
Worth The Money
This book is well printed, has a complete Table of Contents, an appendix, and an index. This is my first and only recommendation for learning C ESPECIALLY as a beginner. If you’re coming from Python having good syntax might throw you off but once you adjust you will see why everyone hates writing in Python.
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2024
This is by far the best C programming book I've ever read.
I'd like to point out that this is not the no-brain book for beginners with no programming experience at all. You probably need to learn some computer architecture, data structure, algorithms, and other programming experience, even just python.
The book is very concise, less than 200 pages for the body, but to the point. Neither complicated nor redundant. The examples are really great to illustrate the concept and some necessary programming skills.
If you need to get to the hardware closer or learn algorithms further, I would like to recommend this book.
If you are just doing data processing and have no need or interest to algorithm, I wouldn't recommend it. You can start from python or other well encapsulated languages. You can use lots of packages to finish the transaction work.
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2009
In 1988, The C Programming Language, 2nd Edition (affectionately referred to as K&R2) was first printed. Despite the passing of so many years, C's syntax and semantics have remained fairly stable. It is then fitting that K&R2 remains the de facto manual and reference for helping programmers get acquainted with the C programming language. Dennis M. Ritchie, one of the co-authors, is the original designer of C and also helped design the Unix operating system in the '60s. Brian Kernighan also helped with the design of Unix, AWK, and is noted for creating other well-known Unix programs.

Not only are the authors well qualified, but they communicate very effectively in concise and clear language. The authors do not pander or condescend to readers. They make no claims to teach C in only one day; they actually expect readers to have a basic grasp on various programming concepts. The authors show an earnest desire to help programmers learn the language. The code examples provided are very helpful and exceptionally elegantly coded. As other reviewers have noted, they help instill good coding habits from the start.

K&R2 provides a helpful introduction to programmers, which gives an overview of what the C programming language is (and is not). The introduction explains C's typing system and basic features. The meat of the book is well organized into chapters that sequentially build upon previous chapters. Chapter 5, "Pointers and Arrays," for example, does a great job at elucidating a difficult computer science concept. A lot of people are well aware of nasty bugs deriving from using pointers and arrays, but the authors explain pointers and arrays in a very clear way, which draws the important distinctions between them.

After the main tutorial chapters, the appendix follows in an amazingly compact, yet thorough reference, which includes a C grammar, overview of the standard libraries, and more. Oftentimes, this reference is the most convenient and concise source for information (note that the C Standard is *the* authoritative source on the C specification). For example, the section covering the "*printf" and "*scanf" conversion specifiers is extremely helpful and much easier to digest than most man pages.

For such a relatively small text, it's amazing how thorough it is. Although it's no substitute for having a copy of the ISO C Standard at hand, it's still an indispensable reference to have. Also, since C99 has yet to be fully implemented on many common implementations, developers still look to the ANSI C standard for ensuring their code is as portable as possible.

I feel K&R2 is the best reference for learning C; it has been considered canon for all these years for a reason.
19 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2024
Great book for me -- an adult reader with a technical background who is learning C. I'm already familiar with programming (do they call it "coding" nowadays?) and I've done a lot of work in Python. Given that, I found it easy to pick up C from the book.

You could read this as a beginner as well -- I might get it as a gift for a smart high-school kid. But it won't be easy.

The book is clearly written with good examples and exercises. Some of those exercises are pretty hard! I skipped most of them, because I have my own projects I want to do instead. But if you're learning C for the first time, I recommend them.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2013
I'm not new to programming; in fact I've been doing it professionally for the past decade. Although I've played around in quite a few different languages, most of my work over the last 6 years has been in .NET (C# mainly). I have always had an interest in C because I love its simplicity. Also, it's a language which brings one closer to the machine, stripping away many of the abstractions that higher level languages provide. Higher level languages (such as Java, C#, Python, etc.) are massive and powerful with HUGE frameworks, but I'm attracted to simple things.

This book is a feisty little devil! I had heard of this book before diving in (it is a classic), but its size and table of contents lead me to believe I would breeze right through it. Wrong! Picking up the syntax wasn't too difficult and I have a fairly good handle on more advanced concepts like pointers already, but this book is absolutely packed with exercises and many of them are quite challenging!

Here's one:
"Write a program to check a C program for syntax errors like unbalanced parenthesis, brackets and braces. Don't forget about quotes, both single and double, escape sequences, and comments."

This is a chapter 1 exercise! Chapter 1 is just a tutorial introduction chapter and this is one 1 of 24 exercises in this chapter! No wonder it takes people years to work through this tiny book. I'm only about halfway through as I write this review.

This book is the perfect blend of reference material, practical knowledge and challenging exercises. There is absolutely no fluff and not a single word is wasted. I grow tired of pouring through 1,000+ page tomes. The appendices are also very well structured and extremely helpful.

Although I do virtually no C coding professionally, I can say for certain that this book has leveled up my skill-set. Working through these exercises has helped me with logical thinking and having a better understanding of coding closer to the machine has improved me as a developer overall. I'm one who believes that this book is great for all programmers, even if you never write a line of C after working through this book. I'm really loving the C language!

Whether you are a beginner or experienced it's worth having this book. Though this will be quite tough for total beginners, I say it's still work picking up and pairing it with a more beginner-friendly book. Unfortunately I cannot recommend such a book at this time because this is the only C book I've worked through.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Lukas
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book
Reviewed in Canada on August 1, 2024
This is probably the best programming book that I have ever read. The book is concise, intuitive, and packed with information. I wish this would have been my first introduction to programming. Consider not getting the cheaply printed version, the print quality is sad.
Samuel Arenas
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all C programmers
Reviewed in Mexico on May 5, 2024
Complete book on the basic building blocks of C. Quite simple language but very very powerful.
Fernanda
5.0 out of 5 stars C
Reviewed in Brazil on June 24, 2023
Muito bom. Excelente e importante para quem gosta de programação.
Michael Holme
5.0 out of 5 stars Very practical
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 27, 2024
For a programmer this is brilliant. The actual book needs no introduction, but having it in the Kindle app of your smartphone, with its readily usable Kindle search facility... if you know what I'm saying; is enough said, isn't it? Well, it beats fingerings through the paper version, unless you're learning C and not wanting a reference.
Dmitry
5.0 out of 5 stars The programming language C
Reviewed in Italy on August 13, 2024
Ottimo!