K&R Wishlist

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  • Ben Pfaff

    #76
    Re: K&R Wishlist

    "Fao, Sean" <enceladus311@y ahoo.comI-WANT-NO-SPAM> writes:
    [color=blue]
    > Is somebody just hoping to get a K&R 3rd edition or is there *real* talk
    > about releasing an updated version of the text?[/color]

    K or R (don't recall who) was asked about it some time ago and
    said there were no plans for a 3rd edition.
    --
    Peter Seebach on C99:
    "[F]or the most part, features were added, not removed. This sounds
    great until you try to carry a full-sized printout of the standard
    around for a day."

    Comment

    • Fao, Sean

      #77
      Re: [OT] K&amp;R Wishlist

      storm.kbot@gmai l.com wrote:[color=blue]
      > newby2c wrote:
      >[color=green]
      >>My personal K&R (3rd edition) wish list:
      >> 7. Make an appendix with the full ascii table.[/color]
      >
      >
      > If you are using an UNIX style OS (like Linux), you can use the
      > command:
      > $ man ascii
      > It's a much better way than having to search into the book.
      >
      > PS: The only time I saw a ASCII table in a C book it's was into the
      > infamous "C: for Dummies".[/color]

      C For Dummies? Talk about an oxymoron.

      I've glanced over only a single "for Dummies" book and it was probably
      the worst book I ever wasted my time on. That along with the "Learn
      [enter something here] in 24 Hours" books have always been worthless.

      --
      Sean

      Comment

      • Skarmander

        #78
        Re: [OT] K&amp;R Wishlist

        Fao, Sean wrote:[color=blue]
        > storm.kbot@gmai l.com wrote:
        >[color=green]
        >>newby2c wrote:
        >>
        >>[color=darkred]
        >>>My personal K&R (3rd edition) wish list:
        >>>7. Make an appendix with the full ascii table.[/color]
        >>
        >>
        >>If you are using an UNIX style OS (like Linux), you can use the
        >>command:
        >> $ man ascii
        >>It's a much better way than having to search into the book.
        >>
        >>PS: The only time I saw a ASCII table in a C book it's was into the
        >>infamous "C: for Dummies".[/color]
        >
        >
        > C For Dummies? Talk about an oxymoron.
        >[/color]
        <snip>

        - Google offers a big library of ready-made C code. Use it to your
        advantage.

        - Should Google fail, try any book with a title ending on "in C".
        Chances are, what you want to do is in one of them.

        - If all else fails and you need to write a program yourself, don't
        panic. Start from something that vaguely resembles the problem you're
        trying to tackle and begin modifying it at random.

        - If you get a warning or error that involves the word "pointer", look
        at the offending line and add or remove * and & characters until the
        error goes away.

        - If you're really stumped on something, use Usenet (see "Usenet for
        Dummies") and ask a question on comp.lang.c. The friendly folks there
        stand at your attention to answer any question that involves C. You may
        get a lot of responses that don't directly answer your question; just
        ignore these.

        S.

        Comment

        • Keith Thompson

          #79
          Re: [OT] K&amp;R Wishlist

          Skarmander <invalid@dontma ilme.com> writes:
          [...][color=blue]
          > - If you get a warning or error that involves the word "pointer", look
          > at the offending line and add or remove * and & characters until the
          > error goes away.[/color]

          I'm not sure that's very good advice. It's better to study the error
          message and the code it refers to until you *understand* why the
          compiler complained, and how to write the code correctly.

          The "add or remove stuff until the error goes away" technique is what
          leads to things like extraneous casts that mask real errors. In the
          case of pointers, you can easily end up using the address of an array
          where you really need the address of its first element; if you're
          passing it to printf(), you might not even get a warning from your
          compiler.

          To understand pointers:

          1. Read a good tutorial book on C. K&R2 is one of the best.

          2. Read the FAQ, sections 4 (Pointer), 5 (Null Pointers), and 6
          (Arrays and Pointers). (And read the rest of the FAQ while you're
          at it.)

          If you don't understand what the FAQ is telling you, it's probably a
          sign that you need to go back to your tutorial. If you do understand
          everything the FAQ says, you've probably got a pretty good
          understanding of the language. (Remember that the FAQ is not a good
          starting point; it's designed to clear up misconceptions that you
          might acquire while learning the language, not to teach the language
          from scratch.)
          [color=blue]
          > - If you're really stumped on something, use Usenet (see "Usenet for
          > Dummies") and ask a question on comp.lang.c. The friendly folks therenn
          > stand at your attention to answer any question that involves C. You
          > may get a lot of responses that don't directly answer your question;
          > just ignore these.[/color]

          If the response tells you that your question is off-topic, please
          don't ignore it. It can be difficult for a newbie to know whether
          something is part of the standard C language or a system-specific
          extension. We discuss the former here; for the latter, you'll need a
          system-specific newsgroup.

          --
          Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keit h) kst-u@mib.org <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
          San Diego Supercomputer Center <*> <http://users.sdsc.edu/~kst>
          We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this.

          Comment

          • Skarmander

            #80
            Re: [OT] K&amp;R Wishlist

            Keith Thompson wrote:[color=blue]
            > Skarmander <invalid@dontma ilme.com> writes:
            > [...]
            >[color=green]
            >>- If you get a warning or error that involves the word "pointer", look
            >>at the offending line and add or remove * and & characters until the
            >>error goes away.[/color]
            >
            >
            > I'm not sure that's very good advice. It's better to study the error
            > message and the code it refers to until you *understand* why the
            > compiler complained, and how to write the code correctly.
            >[/color]
            <snip>

            I'm going to assume you pulled a meta-joke by taking my suggestions
            seriously... or otherwise you're trying to get some warming-up for an
            improved "C for Dummies" book.

            In which case, I'll want royalties.

            S.

            Comment

            • Keith Thompson

              #81
              Re: [OT] K&amp;R Wishlist

              Skarmander <invalid@dontma ilme.com> writes:[color=blue]
              > Keith Thompson wrote:[color=green]
              >> Skarmander <invalid@dontma ilme.com> writes:
              >> [...]
              >>[color=darkred]
              >>>- If you get a warning or error that involves the word "pointer", look
              >>>at the offending line and add or remove * and & characters until the
              >>>error goes away.[/color]
              >> I'm not sure that's very good advice. It's better to study the error
              >> message and the code it refers to until you *understand* why the
              >> compiler complained, and how to write the code correctly.
              >>[/color]
              > <snip>
              >
              > I'm going to assume you pulled a meta-joke by taking my suggestions
              > seriously... or otherwise you're trying to get some warming-up for an
              > improved "C for Dummies" book.
              >
              > In which case, I'll want royalties.[/color]

              No, there was no intentional meta-joke, I Just Didn't Get It. *blush*.

              --
              Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keit h) kst-u@mib.org <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
              San Diego Supercomputer Center <*> <http://users.sdsc.edu/~kst>
              We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this.

              Comment

              • Skarmander

                #82
                Re: [OT] K&amp;R Wishlist

                Keith Thompson wrote:[color=blue]
                > Skarmander <invalid@dontma ilme.com> writes:
                >[color=green]
                >>Keith Thompson wrote:
                >>[color=darkred]
                >>>Skarmander <invalid@dontma ilme.com> writes:
                >>>[...]
                >>>
                >>>
                >>>>- If you get a warning or error that involves the word "pointer", look
                >>>>at the offending line and add or remove * and & characters until the
                >>>>error goes away.
                >>>
                >>>I'm not sure that's very good advice. It's better to study the error
                >>>message and the code it refers to until you *understand* why the
                >>>compiler complained, and how to write the code correctly.
                >>>[/color]
                >>
                >><snip>
                >>
                >>I'm going to assume you pulled a meta-joke by taking my suggestions
                >>seriously.. . or otherwise you're trying to get some warming-up for an
                >>improved "C for Dummies" book.
                >>
                >>In which case, I'll want royalties.[/color]
                >
                >
                > No, there was no intentional meta-joke, I Just Didn't Get It. *blush*.
                >[/color]
                The frightening thing is, I'm sure many prospective "Dummies" don't,
                either...

                S.

                Comment

                • Fao, Sean

                  #83
                  Re: [OT] K&amp;R Wishlist

                  Skarmander wrote:[color=blue]
                  > Fao, Sean wrote:[color=green]
                  >> C For Dummies? Talk about an oxymoron.[/color][/color]
                  [color=blue]
                  > - Google offers a big library of ready-made C code. Use it to your
                  > advantage.
                  >
                  > - Should Google fail, try any book with a title ending on "in C".
                  > Chances are, what you want to do is in one of them.
                  >
                  > - If all else fails and you need to write a program yourself, don't
                  > panic. Start from something that vaguely resembles the problem you're
                  > trying to tackle and begin modifying it at random.
                  >
                  > - If you get a warning or error that involves the word "pointer", look
                  > at the offending line and add or remove * and & characters until the
                  > error goes away.
                  >
                  > - If you're really stumped on something, use Usenet (see "Usenet for
                  > Dummies") and ask a question on comp.lang.c. The friendly folks there
                  > stand at your attention to answer any question that involves C. You may
                  > get a lot of responses that don't directly answer your question; just
                  > ignore these.[/color]

                  Funny thing is, your advise might just be equal to or better than the
                  junk I saw in the "For Dummies" book I glanced over. If I remember
                  correctly, it was a Java book because I vaguely remember saying to
                  myself, "Yes, Java is for dummies" ;-).

                  --
                  Sean

                  Comment

                  • Corrupted Mind

                    #84
                    Re: K&amp;R Wishlist

                    Fao, Sean wrote:
                    [color=blue]
                    > C For Dummies? Talk about an oxymoron.
                    >
                    > I've glanced over only a single "for Dummies" book and it was probably
                    > the worst book I ever wasted my time on. That along with the "Learn
                    > [enter something here] in 24 Hours" books have always been worthless.[/color]

                    I did actually buy the C For Dummies ( vol 1 and vol 2 ) books for 10
                    cents each and even at this price that book is a fraud. I didn't
                    noticed it before I did get the K&R book. It cost me 60$ and compared
                    to the dummy one this book is extremely inexpensive.

                    Comment

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