C, a Reference Manual

by Harbison Steele

This best-selling, authoritative reference manual provides a complete description of the C language, the run-time libraries, and a style of C programming that emphasizes correctness, portability, and maintainability. Describing the C language more clearly and in more detail than any other book, authors Samuel P. Harbison and Guy L. Steele Jr. provide in a single manual: Standard C - the ANSI/ISO standard now supported by all new C compilers; Traditional C - common practice for twenty years, with millions of lines of code in use every day and the complete Standard and Traditional C run-time libraries. Thoroughly revised and updated, the Fourth Edition adds two important developments: the ANSI/ISO description has been updated with ISO C Amendment 1 (1994), which adds new facilities for writing portable international programs and each language chapter now discusses C++ compatibility, so you can write C programs that will be maximally portable and reusable in C and C++ environments - an important consideration for software developers.

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

404 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Mark Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for the half-semester course I took on C when I was in college. I wouldn't use it to learn C, since as the name says, it's a reference manual. The great thing about this book is it guided the reader about portability issues. It had a complete standard library reference, and it laid out the precedence of all operators in an easy to follow chart. I used it for several years after I got my degree, out in the work world. Very handy. If the newest edition is anything like this one was, I'd highly recommend it to anyone who has to work with C regularly.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good reference manual for core syntax and constructs.

[Maxim Chetruşca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, the book is what its title says: a reference manual. If you need to check something about syntax or semantics, or whether this is a Standard C feature or a specific compiler implementation - this book might be the one. There are also many subtle details presented, like what is the longest line of code possible or how many cases can a switch have. It also covers C++ compatibility. It covers everything, but this is a reference, not a book to learn good practices or tutorial-like. It might not prevent you from misusing a feature which it describes.

[Simon Eatwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The content honestly reflects the title, but newer version of ANSI/C (c17) are not covered here. A must-have reference book. One is introduced to details of the C language not covered by introductory texts. An example being namespaces. With knowledge from this book, one can code C confidently with OOP style.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

People always cite The C Programming Language but this book is a superior reference.

[Tech Nossomy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A vast coverage of the C programming language, which is particularly useful for the aspiring programmer. Since the 2002 edition was published many more updates to the C standard were implemented, so the book is showing its age, and the same information would these days be garnered from online forums.

Some typos and syntactical errors throughout.

[Sohaib · Rating 1 out of 5]

لو ينفع اديه اقل من نجمه هديه

[Chetan]

fsghsfg

[Magnus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reference book

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep, that's the way you do it.

[Ms · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book practically have everything a C programmer is looking for.

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good reference to look at when you need to find something in the C Standard Library.