Rating: 
Summary: Don¿t let C++ clutter your logic.
Review: I grew up on BASIC for Dartmouth to Microsoft and CB80; I have gone through various languages such as Pascal, Visual BASIC and Lisp. Much of the old code is spaghetti (which adds a layer of security through obscurity). In an effort to clean it up a modular design was added and the use of "goto" (still in the C language) was discouraged. This made following the code clear and cut down on redundancy. Still C is the closest high level language to come close to assembly and works best through the use of pointers and addresses. Then the clutter reappears with C++ trying to imitate OOP and other fancy concepts. This slowed it down to no better than the original BASIC. The advantage in this book is that it is not cluttered with C++ that forces you to extrapolate the original C concepts when writing fast tight code for communications or large programs with limited resources.
Rating:
Summary: All-around best C refresher/ introduction.
Review: I have an eight year-old copy, and when getting back into C programming after a long layoff (don't ever take a promotion to project leader if you can't keep coding), I pulled this one off my shelf (skipping K&R's book, Herb Schildt's book, and three others in my library).It got me right back into the mindset quickly (I started with the pointers chapter, where all the action is), and helped me get the rust knocked off quick. The examples are well-explained, small and easy to test, and the progression of the book is logical and sane. Buy it and you can wait a year before needing another book on C.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for absolute beginners
Review: I have read "C Primer Plus" and want to recommend it to everyone who has an interest in learning a computer programming language. It is written with a touch that takes away all the fears and respect concerning difficulties a beginner might have. Prata's humourous style and pedagogic approach makes it easy to get a hold of programming techniques. Until chapter 6 the style pace is moderate but then quickens. By then you have been given the means to cope with all the terms and foreign commands and you read on, eager to learn more. The Appendix-section also makes it a rather good reference as long as you keep your programming on "the home front". I strongly recommend this book. Buy it if you want to extend your knowledge!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for absolute beginners
Review: I have read "C Primer Plus" and want to recommend it to everyone who has an interest in learning a computer programming language. It is written with a touch that takes away all the fears and respect concerning difficulties a beginner might have. Prata's humourous style and pedagogic approach makes it easy to get a hold of programming techniques. Until chapter 6 the style pace is moderate but then quickens. By then you have been given the means to cope with all the terms and foreign commands and you read on, eager to learn more. The Appendix-section also makes it a rather good reference as long as you keep your programming on "the home front". I strongly recommend this book. Buy it if you want to extend your knowledge!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, well written, concise & yet covers all the issues
Review: I managed to get thru this book in about 2½ weeks and feel quite competent as a "C" programmer now. I have a fair amount of programming experience but know little about "C". I Felt this book was just a the right level for me. It explained the main issues of "C" clearly, concisely, without being dry or too technical. The book is laid out in a logical manor.
Rating:
Summary: the book is very useful and easy to read
Review: I'm still using this book now, it's on our instructor's suggested books list. I find it very useful. Easy to read, the book examples can be downloaded so u don't have to type one by one. All typos and errors have been corrected in updated examples. All you need is to read, download and practice.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Primer on C with good examples ....
Review: If you are familiar with programming basic concepts then you will have no problem in getting started in C with the help of this book. Author has done great job explaining C concepts with excellent examples. However this book does not cover data structure and algorithms in too much details. I would like to recommend "Introduction to Algorithms" by Thomas H.Cormen to learn Algorithms.
Rating: 
Summary: Comprehensive.
Review: Recently I have had to brush up on my C programming skills as I haven't written anything since mid 1983. This is one of two books I have found that have been most useful. Unfortunetly, I have yet to find a book on C that is all encompassing and comprehensive. This book goes a long way to meeting this. It is written in a very readable manner and can be read from start to finish as well as a refernce for specific topics. The only reason I didn't give this tome 5 stars is that it failed to meet a few of my queries (these were very specific) and I would have liked a few more example bits of code. But perhaps I am being a bit picky. I would certainly buy any future updates to this book.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to read, very informative
Review: Stephen Prata's "C Primer Plus, 4th Ed" (CPP4E) is an excellent book. I took a close look at the competition and even started reading O'Reilly's "Practical C Programming" before realizing CPP4E was the book for me. I had no C programming background, but had the knowledge of C-64 BASIC, Pascal, and other languages shared by many kids born in the 1970s. If you're looking for a well-conceived introduction to C, Prata's book is for you. CPP4E impresses the reader on many levels. First, Prata's writing is exceptionally clear. He doesn't require you to dissect that one "key sentence" which encapsulates all the author has to say on a single topic. Prata defines all of his terms, uses them in examples, and reintroduces them when later new ideas require background presented earlier. Second, CPP4E is a "teach yourself" manual. If you read the text, type in the examples, answer the review questions, and try at least some of the programming exercises, you will learn something. I typed many of the examples in the book by hand and also made use of the code supplied on the publisher's Web site. CPP4E should be used in classes as an introductory C book. Third, it's evident a lot of thought and work went into publishing CPP4E. The index is thorough and applicable. The arrangement of topics makes sense. The diagrams are easy to decipher. The errata available on the publisher's Web site is comprehensive. I did find a few minor issues and submitted those to SAMS, which they acknowledged. My only concern is the author's differentiation between "serious code" and "more relaxed programming." He says on p. 410 "in serious programming, you should use fgets() rather than gets(), but this book takes a more relaxed approach." Unfortunately, this relaxed approach is the reason why computers are constantly compromised. By now programmers should realize that users deploy their code in the most hostile of environments, and intruders will blow away anything that's not bullet proof. While Prata does show readers how to take more secure approaches, I'd like to see a security theme consistently applied throughout the fifth edition. Overall, I strongly recommend CPP4E to anyone interested in an introduction to C. If you're looking for network programming, however, you won't find it here. Keep an eye on future reviews of mine for my picks on a socket programming guide. Keep in mind when reading this review that I'm a beginning C programmer. I'm not in a position to judge the author's style. However, I doubt many experienced programmers would read this entire book!
Rating:
Summary: A great start for new C programmers
Review: Stephen Prata's "C Primer Plus, 4th Ed" (CPP4E) is an excellent book. I took a close look at the competition and even started reading O'Reilly's "Practical C Programming" before realizing CPP4E was the book for me. I had no C programming background, but had the knowledge of C-64 BASIC, Pascal, and other languages shared by many kids born in the 1970s. If you're looking for a well-conceived introduction to C, Prata's book is for you. CPP4E impresses the reader on many levels. First, Prata's writing is exceptionally clear. He doesn't require you to dissect that one "key sentence" which encapsulates all the author has to say on a single topic. Prata defines all of his terms, uses them in examples, and reintroduces them when later new ideas require background presented earlier. Second, CPP4E is a "teach yourself" manual. If you read the text, type in the examples, answer the review questions, and try at least some of the programming exercises, you will learn something. I typed many of the examples in the book by hand and also made use of the code supplied on the publisher's Web site. CPP4E should be used in classes as an introductory C book. Third, it's evident a lot of thought and work went into publishing CPP4E. The index is thorough and applicable. The arrangement of topics makes sense. The diagrams are easy to decipher. The errata available on the publisher's Web site is comprehensive. I did find a few minor issues and submitted those to SAMS, which they acknowledged. My only concern is the author's differentiation between "serious code" and "more relaxed programming." He says on p. 410 "in serious programming, you should use fgets() rather than gets(), but this book takes a more relaxed approach." Unfortunately, this relaxed approach is the reason why computers are constantly compromised. By now programmers should realize that users deploy their code in the most hostile of environments, and intruders will blow away anything that's not bullet proof. While Prata does show readers how to take more secure approaches, I'd like to see a security theme consistently applied throughout the fifth edition. Overall, I strongly recommend CPP4E to anyone interested in an introduction to C. If you're looking for network programming, however, you won't find it here. Keep an eye on future reviews of mine for my picks on a socket programming guide. Keep in mind when reading this review that I'm a beginning C programmer. I'm not in a position to judge the author's style. However, I doubt many experienced programmers would read this entire book!
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