The C Standard : Incorporating Technical Corrigendum 1

Rating:
Summary: Content you need... but too expensive and very poorly bound
Review: I want to own a paper copy of this book; I have been programming in C for over fifteen years, and also reading and correcting other programmers' code. While I've got some good references on hand, sometimes when I come across some bizarre abuse of the language, there is just no substitute for the ANSI standard to help me understand why something is wrong.

Unfortunately, this is the content I want, but, like the C++ Standard book which also recently became available, the binding is one of the poorest I've ever seen in a hardback book. The cover is thin, there is no cloth in the binding, and the gluing is very flimsly. Just flipping through some pages in the bookstore, I was afraid they were going to start falling out. A sturdy well-bound paperback edition would be much more welcome than this flimsy hardcover.

This is inexcusable for a book that lists at $65 and for one that is designed as a reference. The standard is available for download for $18, although you won't get the extra introductions. You'd be better off downloading it, then taking it to a Kinko's or other print shop to have it printed on sturdy paper and bound with a coil. It won't be as pretty, and it might cost you just about as much, but it will certainly last longer.

I just can't bear paying so much for such a poorly made book. The C standard should be in the hands of every serious C programmer, and this is the only authorized edition, but I'm sure no one involved with the standardization effort "authorized" Wiley to rip off buyers with this flimsy, overpriced effort.