Brian W. Kernighan - The C Programming Language: ANSI C Version

Pros: Written by the people who gave C life, it's the definitive C text
Cons: Difficult for people who aren't "real" programmers.

This is it! This is the text book for C Programmers. It is the definitive reference guide. This book is how I learned to program. Look, when it comes to programming -- I'm a snob. I'll admit it. In the dog-eat-dog world of programming there is a...

Pros: Brevity; examples with increasing degrees of complexity; bare-bones reference
Cons: Experience required-- this is not a book for beginners

Many programming languages in use today claim the C programming language as an ancestor (if not predecessor). Traditional programming languages such as C++ (C-plus-plus) and C# (C-sharp) are direct descendants of the C Programming language (which I will...

Pros: Written by the creators of the language.
Cons: Some examples a bit too obscure.

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PRELIMINARIES
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The C Programming Language was recommended to me a long, long, time...

Pros: some peole claim it's a useful reference
Cons: difficult to learn from, and i have found it to be a lousy reference

When I first wrote code in C, it was for math research. The people where I was working told me the best way to learn C was to buy this book and learn from it. I have heard dozens of other poeple tell of the same sad story: their first introduction...

Pros: Written by the same people who wrote C. Concise, well written.
Cons: Needs more examples.

If you ask experts and long time users of C (an easy way to do this would be to go to #c on IRC), what the best book to get for C programming is, you'll more often than not get a resounding 'K&R' from them. K&R is shorthand for Kernighan & Ritchie, the...

Pros: Clear, concise, the bible
Cons: A little terse if you are just learning C

I have owned the book "The C Programming Language" since I was in college studying C. This book is the bible when it comes to the C language (which was developed by the authors). If you are just starting out in C or even if you are an old hand...

Pros: It refers to anything you ever wanted to know about ANSI C by the creator of C
Cons: Can't think of any real cons...

This is a great book. When I was first learning to program in C, this was a great book to be a companion Steve Oualline's "Practical C Programming" by O'Reilly & Associates. "The C Programming Language" is a very specific book...

Pros: Bible of C
Cons: May put off people

The C programming language by the creators of C would have certainly be better off with simpler explanations of concepts. The book may put me off while I started off. The book, however would be perfect for intermediate and advanced programmers. I would...

Pros: Sentimental value
Cons: Tries to be both a tutorial and reference, and is not outstanding either way

I have 12 years of C programming experience, and I still prefer straight C to C++.

When I was first learning the language in 1989, it seemed logical to start with the reference book. Unfortunately, I found the "K&R" was not a very tutorial (I...

Pros: Concise, beautiful.
Cons: VERY technical.

If anyone ever wanted to read a concise manual or guide, this is it. Even if you're not remotely interested in C, you would enjoy this book because of its sheer simplistic beauty. The actual creators of the language itself have written this book and,...

Pros: Concise. Accurate. Clear. Challenging. Beneficial.
Cons: Not read enough by programmers. It isn't free.

This is the C programming book. It's written by the original author of the language (Ritchie) and an excellent technical writer, who also worked at the lab where the creators of C, UNIX, and C++ worked (Kernighan).

It's concise, clear, and accurate. I've seen a lot of programming books, many of them written by people with no experience. These guys created the language.

I've seen books full of errors. There are no errors in the code in this book. Period.

If you really want to learn C, or have a decent reference (the index is quite good as well), or just want a copy of THE BIBLE for C, get this book.