Rating: 
Summary: Okay
Review: I program in both C and C++. This book is okay. There are better ones. I suggest watching Takin' It All Off VHS video rather than reading this text.
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect
Review: I purchased this book about five years ago. Back then I had an unquenchable thirst for anything related to computer programming. This book is the best book I have *ever* seen on C for a beginner or intermediate programmer (I own over 30 programming books, covering various languages). By no means is it reference material, but that's not its goal. The thing that struck me the most about it was Mr. Oaulline's emphasis on good programming strategies. His explanations are simple, yet very effective. This is the only book I would ever recommend to anyone who wants to learn C or strengthen good habits for programming in general. All of this, and I was only barely in High School when I read it. Now, five years later, I am in college-- and to my absolute surprise this very same text is assigned for an introductory C programming course. They could not have picked a better book, nor could you!
Rating: 
Summary: Good for instruction but buggy examples
Review: I recently purchased the 8/01 printing of this book. I did so after a quick scan of the book. My decision was heavily based on the fact that it's publish by O'Reilly, a company I had come to trust for accuracy. The code examples in this book begin to make me question that trust. Don't get me wrong, the author is very clear in conveying the given topics, and for that alone the book is worth purchasing. However, the book is riddled with errors in the example code. In some cases the errors are intentional and corrected later as part of the lesson. Many others have been reported to O'Reilly, but appear to have gone unchecked. The current errata page for this book is quite long and was last updated (8/15/01 as of this writing) during the same month as the printing I have. However, O'Reilly still has these glaring errors classified as unverified. Overall the book has been a wonderful learning tool, but you must take the source with a hefty grain of salt, and make your first stop O'Reilly's errata page.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on practice of programming....
Review: I want to Tell that I have never read a programming learning book as good as this.. I had never understood how pointers worked, if this book taught me pointers, it had to be good... Now I'm searching a book on building C like this, I hope Steve is preparing one....
Rating:
Summary: Just take a look
Review: I wanted to learn C in a very bad way and this text was my gateway to understaing. I am a EE at PSU and this book brought me up to the level of a computer science major. Very quick reading! I recommend it to anyone, beginner or advanced!!
Rating:
Summary: Very good C book
Review: I'll be brief. This is THE book that really got me started in C programming. I have read a couple of other C books before but this one was by far the best one I have read. My recommendation is that you should have some programming knowledge first (any language) before diving into this book, I had PASCAL. Although it's possible to learn from it as a complete newcomer it's probably harder to digest, that really depends on the reader. This book is just about basic C syntax and a couple of data structures, which is good IMHO. Nothing really advanced so you will have to move to another book afterwards if you wish to become well versed in C.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best!
Review: I'm surprised at some of the single-star reviews for this book. IMHO, anyone who thinks this book isn't clearly written simply didn't spend enough time reading and thinking about the material. Let's face it, programming isn't easy -- you need to learn some basic concepts, then learn the syntax of a language, then practice and move on to advanced features. This book does an excellent job of helping programmers, even complete novices, do just that. The author also goes beyond the basics, and covers some hints and tips that are not mentioned in any other beginner's book that I can find. For example, many beginner's books warn about the erratic behavior of scanf(), but only Practical C takes the extra step by providing a complete workaround (the author advises not to use scanf(), and to use fgets() and sscanf() instead). I'm only a beginner, and so far I have purchased and read through Greg Perry's Absolute Beginner's Guide to C, Dave Mark's Learn C on the Macintosh (and on Win 95), the classic K&R C Programming Language, and Practical C. All of these books have their advantages, but I think K&R is a bit too difficult for complete newbies. The Perry and Mark books may be a little too simple, but they're excellent quick reads. Practical C is the perfect middle ground, and I recommend that it be read in conjuction with one of the easier books before moving on to K&R. I also recommend that you read through a chapter completely to get the concepts, then go back and do all the exercises for reinforcement. That's what I did, and even though I struggled to "get" some of the material the first time around, on the second read-through everything managed to sink in. I can't recommend this book highly enough -- it is clear, accurate, and a pleasure to read and work through.
Rating:
Summary: If you're buying one C book, make it this one !
Review: I've read many C programming books in my time, all of which tend to take the reader in circles, only serving to confuse her, rather than educate her. Steve Oualline's "Practical C Programming", however, is a different story: written with the dry, often tongue-in-cheek humour that has come to characterise O'Reilly books, the reader is taken from basics, through commenting, all the way to the more complex C topics. If you plan to buy only C book, make it this one.
Rating:
Summary: Look for a cow on the cover Practical C not C++
Review: If there is not a cow on the cover of this book, you are reading the review for the wrong book. Sometimes reviews are mixed together. I bought this book for a C in UNIX class. The C part is great. Especially the part on how to effectively debug code. There is hardly a page that does not have an example or enlightening diagram. However, the only reference to applying this to UNIX is in the back where it "Practically" says that there are different versions of UNIX. It never really clamed to be a UNIX book on C. The section on unbufferd I/O has a little more on the UNIX handling of files. Over all, until something better comes along I am still using this book. Bernie Chandler
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good C Book. Typical O'Reilly Excellence.
Review: If you are at all familiar with O'Reilly computer books, you know that they typically put out a good product. This book is no exception. It is not a book for "dummies" or "idiots" in that it does not present the material in 5 sentence paragraphs and have zillions of useless pictures. In addition, it does not purport to teach you something as complex a C programming in an exorbitantly short period. What is DOES do, is teach you C Programming in a straight forward and through manner. The O'Reilly books -- and this one is no exception -- are no nonsense technical books. They get to the heart of the subject matter and deal with it. You don't have to be a computer guru; but you must posses some basic common sense and a willingness to learn a subject, and not just expect to be an expert by reading a book. Programming is learnt by doing, Period!. This book acts as your guide as you practice and learn this wonderful skill. All the source code in the book (i.e. the examples) can be downloaded from O'Reilly's web site. If you want to learn C, get this book. (P.S. No, I do not have any vested interest or personal stake in O'Reilly Publishing... I am just tired of sub-standard books in the computer industry and applaud this company's quality work.)
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