C Book you can recommend

Anonymous Monk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

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Re: C Book you can recommend by Old_Gray_Bear (Bishop) on Dec 07, 2005 at 17:22 UTC
K&R (The C Programming Language), of course. And "Lyon's Commentary om UNIX 6th Edition with Source Code. ---- I Go Back to Sleep, Now. OGB	[reply]
Re: C Book you can recommend by kirbyk (Friar) on Dec 07, 2005 at 17:32 UTC
In addition to the definitive Kernighan and Ritchie, I like O'Reilly's Practical C Programming. (I got my copy of K&R used for $1 at a Safeway in Portland while getting food for a con. I really can't explain why they had a pile of almost-free used books, or why K&R C was among them. Just one of those mildly weird things that happens from time to time.) -- Kirby, WhitePages.com	[reply]
Re^2: C Book you can recommend by Tanktalus (Canon) on Dec 07, 2005 at 17:57 UTC
Just to go a bit more offtopic here, but Safeway often has used books that are "donated" by whomever wants to get rid of books, and the proceeds will go to the charity chosen by the employees in that store on a year-by-year basis (i.e., they choose one per year). If you're lucky, you can find gems. Either way, the money goes to charity.	[reply]
Re^2: C Book you can recommend by eweaverp (Scribe) on Dec 08, 2005 at 10:16 UTC
I second the Practical C suggestion; the old-school one with the cow on the cover, and the line at the top saying "When does 2+2 = 4094?"* *or some similar number...	[reply]
Re: C Book you can recommend by marto (Cardinal) on Dec 07, 2005 at 17:24 UTC
This is really off topic, but I liked The joy of C. Martin	[reply]
Re^2: C Book you can recommend by Fletch (Bishop) on Dec 07, 2005 at 18:18 UTC
I'd disagree and say it's marginally off topic. Having a strong C background made picking up Perl a snap, and it's a very good thing to have to understand the *NIX / POSIX underpinnings which Perl sits on top of. Not to mention if you ever want to interact with external libraries via XS or Inline::C.	[reply]
Re^3: C Book you can recommend by DrHyde (Prior) on Dec 08, 2005 at 12:14 UTC
On the other hand, having a strong C background makes you program perl as if it were C. When I'm recruiting for perl people, I ask that applicants be competent with some other language, but I don't care what language. That said, I'll second both K&R (2nd edition) and The Joy Of C. Both are very good.	[reply]
Re^3: C Book you can recommend by BerntB (Deacon) on Dec 08, 2005 at 13:22 UTC
I agree that a systems programming language like C would complement Perl well; small overlap in their problem areas. (Strictly commercially today, Java might be a better choice. I don't know.) If you are going to learn C, I would recommend spending a few hours looking over processor architecture, if you don't know anything about it. C is quite close to the machine and it is enlightening to think about how C code would compile. I am impressed by your will to learn. I know fewer languages after learning Perl! I stopped using AWK, shell and others and can't say I know them anymore. I know a better superset. My favorite C book is Harbinson-Steele, but it is not that relevant anymore. Go with K&R or some other recommendation.	[reply]
Re: C Book you can recommend by swampyankee (Parson) on Dec 07, 2005 at 17:25 UTC
Gehani, N, C: An Advanced Introduction, Computer Science Press, Rockville, MD: 1989 emc Visit Netlib	[reply]
Re: C Book you can recommend by venk (Acolyte) on Dec 08, 2005 at 13:30 UTC
Expert C Programming by Peter van der Linden is an entertaining second book on C. You might want to have a look at it after you finish K&R	[reply]
Re^2: C Book you can recommend by Anonymous Monk on Dec 08, 2005 at 15:40 UTC
Thank you all for your advice.	[reply]
Re: C Book you can recommend by Fletch (Bishop) on Dec 07, 2005 at 18:15 UTC
I had a first or second edition copy of A Book On C by Al Kelley, Ira Pohl (ISBN 0201183994) which was pretty good (actually I originally picked up C from a Waite Group quick reference, but this book was used as a text in the intro to C class I took aeons ago). Be aware that it's more aimed at a "know how to program and want to pick up C" audience than non-programmers.	[reply]