It's no secret: When it comes to learning a programming language, Larry Ullman is the man you want at your side! As the best-selling author of guides to PHP, MySQL, and more, he's proved that programming doesn't have to be painful, especially when it comes to a language that is at its core both simple and small. We're talking, of course, about C, and if you want to learn it fast (not to mention well), this book provides the key. Joined by co-author and fellow programmer Marc Liyanage, this author team tackles both programming fundamentals and the ABCs of C itself through a series of task-based lessons that use step-by-step instructions and a plethora of visual aids to make C if not instantly accessible, then almost. This book uses friendly, straightforward language to explain every aspect of this fundamental technology: from basic syntax and data types to working with numbers, characters, loops, and arrays; creating functions; using the C preprocessor; file input and output; and more.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 9 Ratings

Gentle introduction to C programming - Not a keeper though - 2005-10-18
Reviewer Rating:
The author did a fine job introducing key C programming concepts and illustrate them using simple well-explained code samples.

However, the book just doesn't cover enough depth and breadth about useful C topics for this book to be a keeper. I am not sure about the intended audience. Computer Science students should definitely get more serious books like C Primer to learn in-depth about the C programming language, whereas developers from other languages should get more advanced books like Expert C Programming, Pointers on C to start 'Thinking in C' and get more bang for the buck.

I think this book is a good buy only for those looking for a job interview that requires C knowledge and you have only a weekend to prepare for it ;)

A bit of a disappointment - 2005-12-23
Reviewer Rating:
I own two other books by Larry Ullman and am nothing but pleased with them; however, this one was rather disappointing. The coverage is overly simplistic, shallow and lacks substance. The authors also "stroke out" in the pointers section --which is a bastion of C programming. I suppose it's "fine" as a dumbed-down introductory text, but for anyone with even a little programming background this book is useless or even laughable. Definitely not one of his better ones.

Excellent way to learn C programming! - 2008-10-14
Reviewer Rating:
I needed to learn to program in C for my job. Unfortunately I was unable to find any community college or other in-person type courses that taught C programming. I spent several months struggling trying to learn C through Element K and other online resources. Having previously used the Visual Quickstart series to learn HTML, I finally purchased the C Programming Visual Quickstart Guide. It was the best purchase I have made in a long time! The two column format is FAR easier to follow than the traditional single column approach. The examples teach the content very specifically by highlighting (in bold) the relevant code in the scripts found on the right-hand side of the page. I am learning to program in C quickly and easily. I wish I had bought the book in the first place!

best introduction ever !!! - 2006-12-31
Reviewer Rating:
It is a wonderful Introduction to C!!!
I have seen many other books dealing with programming, but this is definitely the best.
Even for an almost absolute beginner like me this book presented a format, a style and a quality to get understand pretty easy. For PC and Mac users alike; and the given examples work - what in most books it is not the case!
I wish the authors would write a book about Objective - C in the same style!
Amazing that there so few books about programming and programming languages which deal the subject in a didactically and thorough method without the need having learned three languages before and without having a 10 years programmers experience
- a be on a mac-

thanks so much to the authors!!!

Good book to start with!! - 2005-12-21
Reviewer Rating:
If you wanted to get up to speed with C without having to read thousands of pages in order to understand one concept then this book does a fantastic job. Good book to start on and i would recommend it to anyone!!

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