No label defined (Q4349934)

There exist already many textbooks on the programming language C. The special feature of the book in discussion is the emphasis to pointers. As well known, pointers are an efficient programming tool, but they are also dangerous because of missing run time checks. Therefore it is very important to have a deep and exact knowledge how to use pointers correctly and how to avoid mistakes. This is the goal of the reviewed book. The contents of the book may on the first look resemble other publications. It presents ANSI C, but there are hints marking the differences to the classic C language of Kernighan and Ritchie. Pointers are introduced in an early chapter and afterwards used frequently. The coding of several basic algorithmic tasks is treated taking into account efficiency as well as readability. Especially to mention are the many cautions given to prevent faults and the numerous useful programming tips. At the end of each chapter, summaries of the contents, the cautions and the tips are placed. Beyond that questions are put to the reader enabling him to test his knowledge. Moreover, programming exercises are suggested. They are marked by stars according to their difficulty. Selected solutions of the most interesting problems are given in an appendix. The book is no primer for beginners. It requires some experience in programming using high level languages. But it is written with much didactic feeling in this way developing the readers programming skill. If somebody writes bad and faulty C programs though having read the book he cannot lay the blame on the author. Nevertheless, the book is also useful for C++ programmers to improve knowledge about C fundamentals. Finally, it can serve like a manual, too.