C Primer Plus is a conversational-style book aimed at those new to C programming. A friendly and easy-to-use self-study guide, this book will be appropriate for serious students of programming, as well as developers proficient in other languages with a desire to better understand the fundamentals of this core language.

As with all the editions, author Stephen Prata's aim has been to create an introduction to C that is instructive, clear, and helpful. Programming concepts are explained along with details of the C language; the book does not assume that you are a professional programmer. Many short, easily typed examples illustrate just one or two concepts at a time, since learning by doing is one of the most effective ways to master new information. Finally, review questions and programming exercises at the end of each chapter punctuate the most critical information and help readers digest the most difficult concepts. The text has been updated to accommodate the emergence of a new standard for C-C99.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 29 Ratings

Well-paced and full of examples - 2004-07-17
Reviewer Rating:
C Primer Plus by Stephen Prata is a well-paced book to learning C. It has examples of the concepts in every section, and he doesn't gloss over important topics that are key to further your learning such as pointers. I would like to give this book 5 stars, but it suffers from quite a few errors. Not just errors in the descriptions, but errors in explaining code and errors in the examples. They aren't critical errors, and makes for a little bit of fun finding the errors.

An example of errors in 4th edition:

While explaining two-dimensional arrays, here a a glaring error:
---
#define COLS 4
int sum2d(int ar[][COLS], int rows)
{

}

You can use it with any of the following function calls:

tot = sum2(array1, 5); // sum of a 5x4 array
tot = sum2(array2, 100); // sum of a 100x4 array
tot = sum2(array3, 2); // sum of a 5 x 2 array
---

The last example function call is incorrect, and he goes on in the next chapter explaining how the sum2d function would required to be changed to support more rows. There are 3-5 errors per chapter like this.

Solid 'B-'.

Very good - 2005-02-12
Reviewer Rating:
I am relatively new to the subject (Having purchased K & R's programming c, second edition prior to this--no success) and I have to admit, after only three days I'm already into chapter five and have a vast understanding of the language. What I like, personally, is that they go about explaining the code in a no-non-sense way, being that they relate the practice code to something you can remember (i.e. explaining code using everyday words, such as using days of the week for enum). The only problem I have with the book is that they like to repeat information over and over...I suppose it is a good teaching trick but after a while this becomes rather tiresome. Overall...I'd give it 4 stars.

Best C book! - 2004-07-28
Reviewer Rating:
This book is simple enough for the beginning programmer and advanced enough to get you a very solid base in C. It is the best programming book I've read. I cant tell you how helpful it is. In my book all errors have been fixed and since I bought it a few months ago so there should'nt be any errors left anymore. The code for the book is easily attainable through Sams online website www.samspublishing.com too. Excellence!

Best Beginning C Book Out There - 2006-01-17
Reviewer Rating:
When I was 15 and teaching myself C, I read many books to include "Teach Yourself C in 21 Days". Those books were extremely unhelpful and it wasn't until I found this one that I really became a good C programmer. This is the best book that I have found on the C Programming language. It takes you from a beginner to regular C programmer. It covers enough of the language that you will have a firm understanding of programming and the C programming language. I highly recommend this book.

Great beginners book - 2006-05-17
Reviewer Rating:
I picked up this book from the library about a week ago and have been reading it since. The book is a whooping 750 pages long and consists of 17 chapters. Unlike other books [if you have read the C programming language] this one gives you the information right away and explains it in a clear and thrall fashion. Although I did have some issues with the book's presentation of certain topics concerning grammar, spelling, and code It's advantages far outweighs the disadvantages. Probably, however, its biggest drawback is not having answers to the programming exercises except for the short questions. I would recommend this book to anyone who is serious about learning C.

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