Expert C programming!
by Peter Van der Linden · first published 1994
79% recommend18% neutral3% critical
Why HN recommends it
Funny, readable tour of C's quirks and the reasoning behind them, with war stories from real systems. Suits programmers who already know the basics and want a deeper grasp of the language, as a follow-up to K&R.
Common criticism: Dated; written in 1994, before newer C standards
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"This is a very different book on the C language! In an easy, conversational style, Peter van der Linden, of Sun's compiler and OS kernel group, presents dozens of astonishing examples drawn from practical experience, including software that blew up the space probe to Venus; the C bug that shut down the entire AT & T phone system; C programmer job interview secrets; why programmers can't tell Halloween from Christmas day; and the C code for a complete BASIC interpreter." "Expert C Programming reveals the coding techniques used by the best C programmers. It relates C to other languages, and inc
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…codebase will get you acquainted with "modern" C. I've found the book C Traps and Pitfalls to be the book to get you to think like a C programmer. The C Puzzle Book is pretty good for exercises, and Expert C Programming does a good job exposing the ugly side of C.
on “Ask HN: Learning C” ↗I love this presentation. It led me to read Expert C Programming [1] by Peter Van Der Linden. My knowledge of C had vastly improved after reading that book (and subsequently C++). Even if you're not a C programmer I would recommend the book as the anecdotes alone are…
on “Deep C and C++ (2011)” ↗…revelatory when the books first came out. Here's a more fun reading list, based off my own tastes. Maybe some of these are on the list, but I found it hard to scroll past a certain point as well: - Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets - The Nature of Computation - The Little Schemer - Programming Pearls
on “Reddit's favorite programming books, from 3.5B comments” ↗Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Programming-Peter-van-Linden/d... Entertaining and informative. Highly recommended.
on “Quirky computing books” ↗I found Peter van der Linden's Expert C Programming to be excellent, and, as a bonus, fun to read (which you can't really say of K&R).
on “C: The Complete Nonsense” ↗…the way programmers think and some interesting tidbits of history. Reading or watching Guy Steele's Growing a Language talk could be fun. The Little Schemer could be a good choice. Van der Linden's Expert C Programming covers some serious C topics, but is also generally educational and enjoyable. You could introduce them to Knuth's writings in an easily-digestible way, like maybe having them read and implement the…
on “Ask HN: reading list for high school students interested in CS?” ↗…some of my favorites from the year ( ranked in how much they changed my thinking ): - The Art of Being Unreasonable ( Eli Broad ) - Alibaba ( Clark ) - The Box ( Levinson ) - King Icahn ( Stevens ) - Expert C Programming ( Linden ) - A Passion to Win ( Redstone ) - Chaos Monkeys ( Martinez ) - A Truck Full of Money ( Kidder ) - The Hidden Wealth of Nations ( Zucman ) - Dead Wake ( Larson )
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗I first encountered the word in the excellent book, Expert C Programming, by Peter van der Linden, who explained that declarations in C are read boustrophedonically.
on “Boustrophedon” ↗I really enjoyed "Deep C Secrets" as an intermediate C book: Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets https://www.amazon.com/dp/0131774298/ A little dated, still lots of relevant knowledge though.
on “Brushing up on operating systems and C programming” ↗…not only teaches the C language but also C idioms and the reasons for using them. K&R is still one of the very best programming books. Every other C book I've read is inferior. Peter van der Linden's "Expert C Programming" is the only book on C besides K&R that I've learned anything from. Good luck, I'm all for more programmers understanding C but I wonder if the wonderful days of programming close to the hardware are…
on “Learn C The Hard Way” ↗The title reminded me of Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets bu Peter van der Linden. If you don't have this book buy it today. It's one of the best C books I've read and AFAIK the only book that combines C and humor! His description of how to make…
on “Deep C” ↗Popular suggestions (not introductory): C Interfaces and Implementations (David R. Hanson) Expert C Programming (Peter van der Linden) I'm also a fan of C Programming: A Modern Approach (K. N. King) as an introductory book, but it's very different in intended audience from K&R. King is writing for students, and…
on “Deconstructing K&R C (2010)” ↗Everyone else's advice to learn by doing is great, but there is also _Expert C Programming_ by Peter van der Linden: http://www.amazon.com/Expert-Programming-Peter-van-Linden/dp... The presentation's "Deep C" pun is a reference to this book, and if you make it all the way to slide 444 you'll…
on “Deep C and C++ (2011)” ↗Funny, the "How can you detect a cycle in a Linked List" question is in the "Secrets of Programmer Job Interviews" Section (actually it is the Appendix) of the fabulous book "Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets" by Peter van der Linden from 1994. Excellent read and apparently even the interview preparation section is still valid! ;-)
on “The Tortoise and The Hare: Loops in Linked Lists” ↗…effort (if you want to get anything out of it). Try it. (Yes, I've worked with it.) K&R is a 27 years old, thoroughly outdated book about C. There are better options[1]. [1] Try the 16 years old book "Expert C Programming" by Peter van Linden, which is excellent, even though outdated too.
on “Drop millions of allocations by using a linked list” ↗