C Primer Plus

by Stephen Prata

The new classic! C Primer Plus , now in its 5th edition, has been revised to include over 20 new programming exercises, newly improved examples and the new ANSI/ISO standard, C99. Task-oriented examples will teach you the fundamentals of C programming. From extended integer types and compound literals to Boolean support and variable-length arrays, you will learn to create practical and real-world applications with C programming. Review questions and programming exercises at the end of each chapter will reinforce what you have learned. This friendly and easy-to-use self-study guide will help you understand the fundamentals of this core programming language.

Genres: Programming, Computer Science, Nonfiction, Textbooks, Reference, Technical, Computers

959 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1984

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good book with lots of examples, and covers just about everything. Unfortunately, the amount of "everything" that got added between the 2nd and 3rd editions is a bit much. (And it didn't get thinned out between the 4rd and 6th editions.)

This textbook is one of the most enduring C books on the market: it has been in print for nearly two decades now. It started off as C Primer Plus by Waite, Prata, and Martin. That went through a few editions, and then it became The New C Primer Plus by Waite and Prata. After a few editions under that name, it was reborn under the old name C Primer Plus (by just Prata this time). Over the years the book has gotten fatter and thinner and fatter again. Although the current edition is rather on the verbose side, I think you'll still find it to be a good one.

This is the textbook for one of the courses I teach. I recently read it to review the changes between this (6th) edition and the 5th edition of the text. I was pleased to find that some, but not all, of the corrections I had made to the text in my lecture notes were addressed in the new edition.

I am sometimes asked why I don't use The C Programming Language by Kernighan and Ritchie as a textbook. (This is the book that defined the C programming language.) Their book is an excellent reference book, but it isn't a good teaching tool. Trying to use it as a basis for a course would be the programming equivalent of trying to teach English using the dictionary as a textbook.

[Tallarico · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had no explicit sexual content nor gang-related violence. However, it is amazing. If you want to learn C then read this book.

[Michael Galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of the dozens of programming books I have read, this one is still one of the best. It is the rare combination of an accessible, yet in-depth tutorial and a reference book.

[Alexandr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legend!

[Zeyuan Hu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, great supplement for K&R.

[Alex Goico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, read it in college and in my opinion it was a better book than Kernighan and Ritchie -- heresy I know. One thing different about this book from other C programming books of it's time is that it will give you a good intro to c11 threads and other c11 concepts.

I would highly recommend it at the time it was published.

[Ι.Γ. Θωμάς · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been out for a while (1984). Usually technical books don't weather well but this one is still as relevant and as informative as it was in 1984. A software engineer that I respect recommended this book to me and I'm glad for it.

[Sean Rapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

great introduction to programming and C, do not recommend if you can already program, C is a pretty easy language, this is more teaching how to program while using C, but also leagues beyond zed shaw (who is awful lmao)

[Bartosz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice book for beginners. Complete introducing of language.

[Aayush Shrivastava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing coverage on basics.

[Nikos Alexo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My reference book of choice for C language as an embedded systems engineer.

[Thomas Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

a classic piece of literature

[Joost · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was engaging and filled with interesting insights. Overall, it was a straightforward read. I utilized its content when developing the website https://tur4.ru

[Kain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Najlepsza jaką można znaleźć w tym temacie. "Z Praty nawet miotła nauczyłaby się programować".
Niektóre rozdziały czytałem kilka razy i pewnie niektóre przeczytam w przyszłości ponownie. Wykonałem ok 90 % ćwiczeń. Teraz w końcu skończyłem czytać "od deski do deski" dla pełnego uporządkowania wiedzy. Tak, jestem zadowolony z siebie :P

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The greatest book on C that I have ever read. Helped me through college.

-m

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very complete - if dry - compendium on the C language.

[Priyank]

let me see then i'll tell

[Kevin Inscoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Mitch Waite's books on programming they were easy to understand but ober time thy got left behind by meatier books on the subject.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm just getting into this book, but so far it's excellent. It reads like I went into the future and wrote a book to teach myself C.

[Omar · Rating 5 out of 5]

very concrete book, self contained, my reference for almost 5 years

[pd · Rating 5 out of 5]

سرامیک و دوغاب

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book.

[Krishna Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best book if you are just starting out to learn C++. I used it long ago when I was learning C++ and it is still available, now in its 5th edition.

[Douglas Fenstermacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clear and concise, and had many code samples. Also gave a decent overview of how each of the concepts works. I would recommend this book.

[Abd-Elrahman · Rating 4 out of 5]

missed some important topics in pointers (function pointer , complex declarations , void pointer , null pointer , array decaying into pointer , sizeof ) .

[Billal Teiba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed but it could be better. No mention for multi-threading which is kind of a bummer.

[CJ Smith]

(6th edition). Found a few typos. Very readable and accessible. Humorous variable names improve the experience as the reader tackles a dry subject.

[Brian Salehi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Prata did a great job on writing C and C++ Primer books. both are mandatory for every C and C++ developer, either beginner or advanced. Examples are totally comprehensive and necessary to read. Explanations are clear and detailed. Text is simple and good for non-Americans.
Reading these books feels like serving pie for C and C++ lovers.