C Books and algorithm books

**Eric Sosman** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

Re: C Books and algorithm books

istillshine@gma il.com wrote:

Questions for the major contributors to comp.lang.c.
>
What C books do you have?

"The C Programming Language," Kernighan and Ritchie (original)
"C: A Reference Manual," Harbison and Steele
"C Traps and Pitfalls," Koenig
"The Standard C Library," Plauger

What C books have you read?

As above.

Which algorithm book is your favorite?

"The Art of Computer Programming," Knuth

What resources that you find particularly useful, beside comp.lang.c
and its FAQ?

The wide world and all therein. (Really, the question
is too broad to admit of a useful answer.)

I ask the above questions mainly to see what I lack. And the answer
may help other newbies as well by letting people know what "weapons"
have been proved to be useful. I might have asked too many questions
these days, but I promise I will reduce them to less than 2 daily from
now on.

Learn Lisp. You may not use it much, but it will improve
your use of other programming languages.

--
Eric Sosman
esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid

**istillshine@gmail.com** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

Re: C Books and algorithm books

On Apr 12, 12:02 pm, Eric Sosman <esos...@ieee-dot-org.invalidwrot e:

Which algorithm book is your favorite?

>
"The Art of Computer Programming," Knuth
>

My head ached when I read this book in a library. I quit after
reading several pages, feeling I was so intelligently inferior. I
could not understand why the author uses an assembly-like language to
describe algorithms. C would have been a much better choice.

I heard the author himself is a good programmer. I believe he must
have good reasons to do it. But I really cannot comprehend the
reasons outlined in the preface of his book.

What supported you to continue reading his book? I am thinking of
buying a copy of it though.

**Malcolm McLean** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

Re: C Books and algorithm books

<istillshine@gm ail.comwrote in message news:

Questions for the major contributors to comp.lang.c.
>
What C books do you have?
>
>
What C books have you read?
>
Which algorithm book is your favorite?
>
What resources that you find particularly useful, beside comp.lang.c
and its FAQ?
>
I ask the above questions mainly to see what I lack. And the answer
may help other newbies as well by letting people know what "weapons"
have been proved to be useful. I might have asked too many questions
these days, but I promise I will reduce them to less than 2 daily from
now on.
>
>

Try Basic Algorithms, by me.
It's still in first edition so there are a few glitches, some of which have
been pointed out on this ng. However it covers a lot of practical material
you won't find in other algorithm books.

--
Free games and programming goodies.

http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~bgy1mm

**Eric Sosman** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

[OT] Re: C Books and algorithm books

istillshine@gma il.com wrote:

On Apr 12, 12:02 pm, Eric Sosman <esos...@ieee-dot-org.invalidwrot e:
>

>>Which algorithm book is your favorite?

> "The Art of Computer Programming," Knuth

>
My head ached when I read this book in a library. I quit after
reading several pages, feeling I was so intelligently inferior. I
could not understand why the author uses an assembly-like language to
describe algorithms. C would have been a much better choice.

Then you have failed to grasp his purposes, which include
(among other things) quantitative comparisons of implementations .
You may have heard that Quicksort and Heapsort are both O(N logN)
algorithms (on the average); this much needs only a rather loose
notion of "time." You may also have heard that Quicksort is
faster than Heapsort (usually), but how could you justify such a
statement by analyzing C implementations of both? Is ++i faster
than i++? Is x=a?b:c faster than x=bc[!a]? You cannot attack
such questions from the standpoint of the C language, but only
from particular implementations of it (and you will get different
answers each time).

In any case, though, you didn't ask for recommendations of
books that you would find easy to understand; you asked "Which
algorithm book is your favorite?" And I answered.

I heard the author himself is a good programmer.

Do you know of any other programmer who gives away code and
then pays money to people who find bugs in it? (I suppose that
in his case the financial hardship may not be severe; I've got
one of his checks in a frame on my wall, and I bet many others
go similarly uncashed.)

I believe he must
have good reasons to do it. But I really cannot comprehend the
reasons outlined in the preface of his book.
>
What supported you to continue reading his book? I am thinking of
buying a copy of it though.

I have been reading and re-reading and re-re-reading TAOCP
for more than thirty years, *because* my head sometimes aches
from the strain. (I admit, though, that I haven't had the nerve
to pick up "Concrete Mathematics.")

--
Eric Sosman
esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid

**Bartc** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

Re: C Books and algorithm books

<istillshine@gm ail.comwrote in message
news:03c26734-96c2-4c62-b91f-f77a290197da@k1 g2000prb.google groups.com...

On Apr 12, 12:02 pm, Eric Sosman <esos...@ieee-dot-org.invalidwrot e:
>

Which algorithm book is your favorite?

>>
> "The Art of Computer Programming," Knuth
>>

>
My head ached when I read this book in a library. I quit after
reading several pages, feeling I was so intelligently inferior. I
could not understand why the author uses an assembly-like language to
describe algorithms. C would have been a much better choice.

According to the author, the current language of choice changes every few
years, and he didn't want to have to keep revising all his examples. And at
the time it wouldn't have been C, probably some Algol-class language. There
were a few other reasons too.

But I agree, any proper language would have been a considerable improvement
on MIX or MIXAL.

--
Bart

**Anand Hariharan** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

Re: [OT] Re: C Books and algorithm books

On Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:21:55 -0400, Eric Sosman wrote:

istillshine@gma il.com wrote:

>On Apr 12, 12:02 pm, Eric Sosman <esos...@ieee-dot-org.invalidwrot e:
>>

>>>Which algorithm book is your favorite?
>> "The Art of Computer Programming," Knuth

(...)

>I heard the author himself is a good programmer.

>
Do you know of any other programmer who gives away code and
then pays money to people who find bugs in it? (I suppose that
in his case the financial hardship may not be severe; I've got
one of his checks in a frame on my wall,

That is impressive!

and I bet many others
go similarly uncashed.)
>

I'll bet there aren't *many* others. But of those that are, I would
very much doubt if any would be cashed at all.

--
ROT-13 email address to reply

**Albert Nick** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

Re: C Books and algorithm books

On 4ÔÂ12ÈÕ, ÏÂÎç11Ê±54·Ö, istillsh...@gma il.com wrote:

Questions for the major contributors to comp.lang.c.
>
What C books do you have?
>
What C books have you read?
>
Which algorithm book is your favorite?
>
What resources that you find particularly useful, beside comp.lang.c
and its FAQ?
>
I ask the above questions mainly to see what I lack. And the answer
may help other newbies as well by letting people know what "weapons"
have been proved to be useful. I might have asked too many questions
these days, but I promise I will reduce them to less than 2 daily from
now on.

I think the best algorithm book is "Introducti on to Algorithms" by MIT
Press. It is my first algorithm book and it describe algorithms by
pseudo-code. It is easy to understand.

C book -- The C Programming Language, of cource.

**Richard Heathfield** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

Re: [OT] Re: C Books and algorithm books

Anand Hariharan said:

On Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:21:55 -0400, Eric Sosman wrote:
>

<snip>

>>
> Do you know of any other programmer who gives away code and
>then pays money to people who find bugs in it? (I suppose that
>in his case the financial hardship may not be severe; I've got
>one of his checks in a frame on my wall,

>
That is impressive!
>
>

>and I bet many others
>go similarly uncashed.)
>>

>
I'll bet there aren't *many* others. But of those that are, I would
very much doubt if any would be cashed at all.

You are half-right.

--
Richard Heathfield <http://www.cpax.org.uk >
Email: -http://www. +rjh@
Google users: <http://www.cpax.org.uk/prg/writings/googly.php>
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999

**istillshine@gmail.com** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

Re: C Books and algorithm books

On Apr 12, 3:21 pm, Eric Sosman <esos...@ieee-dot-org.invalidwrot e:

I have been reading and re-reading and re-re-reading TAOCP
for more than thirty years

Is it really a good idea to do so: reading a book for more than 30
years?

**Richard Heathfield** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

Re: C Books and algorithm books

istillshine@gma il.com said:

On Apr 12, 3:21 pm, Eric Sosman <esos...@ieee-dot-org.invalidwrot e:
>

> I have been reading and re-reading and re-re-reading TAOCP
>for more than thirty years

>
Is it really a good idea to do so: reading a book for more than 30
years?

Any old book? No. This book? Yes, absolutely. Given the quality of the
reader, it shows just how much meat there is in TAOCP.

--
Richard Heathfield <http://www.cpax.org.uk >
Email: -http://www. +rjh@
Google users: <http://www.cpax.org.uk/prg/writings/googly.php>
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999

**Eric Sosman** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

Re: C Books and algorithm books

istillshine@gma il.com wrote:

On Apr 12, 3:21 pm, Eric Sosman <esos...@ieee-dot-org.invalidwrot e:
>

> I have been reading and re-reading and re-re-reading TAOCP
>for more than thirty years

>
Is it really a good idea to do so: reading a book for more than 30
years?

Some of my acquaintances read and re-read an even older
book over even longer periods. One passage in that book says

A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and
a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.

--
Eric Sosman
esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid

**Richard Heathfield** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

Re: C Books and algorithm books

Eric Sosman said:

istillshine@gma il.com wrote:

>On Apr 12, 3:21 pm, Eric Sosman <esos...@ieee-dot-org.invalidwrot e:
>>

>> I have been reading and re-reading and re-re-reading TAOCP
>>for more than thirty years

>>
>Is it really a good idea to do so: reading a book for more than 30
>years?

>
Some of my acquaintances read and re-read an even older
book over even longer periods. One passage in that book says
>
A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and
a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.

On the other hand, the same book also says

Of making many books there is no end,
and much study wearies the body.

--
Richard Heathfield <http://www.cpax.org.uk >
Email: -http://www. +rjh@
Google users: <http://www.cpax.org.uk/prg/writings/googly.php>
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999

**istillshine@gmail.com** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

Re: C Books and algorithm books

On Apr 13, 8:51 am, Richard Heathfield <r...@see.sig.i nvalidwrote:

istillsh...@gma il.com said:
>

On Apr 12, 3:21 pm, Eric Sosman <esos...@ieee-dot-org.invalidwrot e:

>

I have been reading and re-reading and re-re-reading TAOCP
for more than thirty years

>

Is it really a good idea to do so: reading a book for more than 30
years?

>
Any old book? No. This book? Yes, absolutely. Given the quality of the
reader, it shows just how much meat there is in TAOCP.

I don't think any book is worth of reading for 30 years. Truth is
hidden in simplicity. Anything too complex is superfluous.

"$B8c@8LiM-36!$<)CNLiL536! (0JM-36n.L536!$KXbc! #(B", as Zhuangzi said.

Zhuangzi - Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi

**Eric Sosman** · Jun 27 '08, 07:27 PM

[OT] Re: C Books and algorithm books

Richard Heathfield wrote:

Eric Sosman said:
>

>istillshine@gma il.com wrote:

>>On Apr 12, 3:21 pm, Eric Sosman <esos...@ieee-dot-org.invalidwrot e:
>>>
>>> I have been reading and re-reading and re-re-reading TAOCP
>>>for more than thirty years
>>Is it really a good idea to do so: reading a book for more than 30
>>years?

> Some of my acquaintances read and re-read an even older
>book over even longer periods. One passage in that book says
>>
>A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and
>a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.

>
On the other hand, the same book also says
>
Of making many books there is no end,
and much study wearies the body.

"The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose."
-- from a writing whose age is intermediate between
the abovementioned pair, also many times re-read

--
Eric Sosman
esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid

C Books and algorithm books

C Books and algorithm books

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