C AllinOne Desk Reference For Dummies^® (All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies)

By Dan Gookin

Book Overview

Ready, set, code! A user-friendly guide introducing the C programming language to new and intermediate coders

The C programming language and its direct descendants are widespread and among the most popular programming languages used in the world today. The enduring popularity of C continues because C programs are fast, concise, and run on many different systems. Flexible and efficient, C is designed for a wide variety of programming tasks: system-level code, text processing, graphics, telecommunications, and many other application areas. C All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies is for beginning and intermediate C programmers and provides a solid overview of the C programming language, from the basics to advanced concepts, with several exercises that give you real-world practice.

C All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies covers everything users need to get up to speed on C programming, including advanced topics to take their programming skill to the next level. Inside you'll learn

The entire development cycle of a C program: designing and developing the program, writing source code, compiling the code, linking the code to create the executable programs, debugging, and deployment

The intricacies of writing the code-- the basic and not-so-basic building blocks that make up the source code

Thorough coverage of keywords, program flow, conditional statements, constants and variables, numeric values, arrays, strings, functions, pointers, debugging, prototyping, and more

Dozens of sample programs you can adapt and modify for your own use

Written in plain English, this friendly guide also addresses some advanced programming topics, such as

Programming for the Linux/Unix console

Windows and Linux programming

Graphics programming

Games programming

Internet and network programming

Hardware programming projects

The book includes a handy appendix that shows you how to set up your computer for programming, how to select and use a text editor, and fix up the compiler, to ensure you're ready to work the author's examples. Written by Dan Gookin, the author of the first-ever For Dummies book (and several others) who's known for presenting complex material in an easy-to-understand way, this comprehensive guide makes learning the C programming language simple and fun. Grab your copy of C All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies, so you can start coding your own programs.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764570692
• ISBN13: 9780764570698
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 848 Pages
• Weight: 2.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The Best "C" Book, Period.

If you need to learn the C language, there is no better book than the "C All-In-One Desk Reference". The book is FUN to read, and gently (and effectively) takes you from the simplest of C concepts like variables, conditional statements and loops, through pointers, references, and arrays, to advanced topics like double-linked lists. The book is OK as a reference, but it EXCELS at presenting the C language to the new programmer. No other technical book in my personal library has helped me (and my career) as much as this one.

Fantastic Jargon Free 'C' programming reference

This book is invaluable as a reference for the C programming language. It doesn't matter if you know a little or a lot about the C programming language this book caters for all levels. This book features a lot of working program examples and allows the reader to easily interact with the book whilst putting any knowledge gained from the book's content into practice.

Excellent Resource!

Great resource for any beginning programmer or Computer Science student. As a student-this book's information was arranged more logically than the textbook we were required to buy for my computer science class. Plenty of examples! The text is well written, and very easy to read-speaks to your level!

Excellent intro or review

If you are a newcomer to C, buy this book. If you are a rusty veteran, like I was -- out of practice with C but wanting to get back in -- buy this book. Start at the beginning, work thru the exercises, and you'll get to a respectable level of sophistication very shortly. Gookin is methodical, thorough, and humorous (without being silly), and covers all the main issues in C including pointers (several good chapters on this one point :-), functions, structures, and linked lists. The examples he gives you to help you thru the coding exercises are clear and easy to follow, and should serve as handy models for you own coding in the future. It doesn't hurt to have a copy of Kernigan & Richie to review the standard functions and header files as he covers them, and to ensure that you become familiar with the KR writ.

A great, great book about C

I found this book to be a true learning experience. I had bought the "C for Dummies, 2nd ed." book before and needed a fast hands-on experience with the C language. Though I'm not a computer newbie (chemical engineering major), this book has made, I believe, as a smooth transition to C software development as it is possible with any book.