The following is a list of recommendations on good reads for programmers in the C programming language:
The C Programming Language, aka the K&R
The classic book, describing all of ANSI C in roughly 200 pages. Written by Dennis Ritchie, who created C, and Brian W. Kernighan. Definitely a book that every C programmer should read and have in their library.
C Programming: A Modern Approach
This is the book I learned C from, and it is definitely one of the best technical books I have ever read. It is around 900 pages long, and very comprehensive. It contains both C89 and C99, and it also tells you about coding best practices and warns you about common gotcha’s.
It uses graphics to explain many concepts and in general, it is easy to read and understand, while it doesn’t skip details because the author felt like they were “unnecessary”. It has many and high-quality exercises and programming projects, and each chapter ends with a question-and-answer part where common questions are answered. If anyone asked me about a book to learn C from, this is what I would suggest.
The C Puzzle Book
The C Puzzle Book engages the reader in some C puzzles, where knowledge of C’s darker corners might be necessary. It is an entertaining read, and you will learn a lot about C from it.
The Standard C Library
This, rather old, jewel explains all of the C standard library and how to use it, but it doesn’t stop there: it shows full sample source code for all of the standard library as well! If you want to understand C’s standard library, this would be the book to get.
Expert C Programming
Explains how to code like a C expert (as far as a book is able to explain that, the rest will be about practice, practice, practice…). Tells you about the secrets making a programmer an expert at C.
C in a Nutshell
This is the book that I use as my C reference and the book which I look into when I need documentation (and don’t have a working Internet connection and manpages aren’t sufficient).
C Traps and Pitfalls
C isn’t a language that is going to play nice with you. It has many hazardous (if not aware of) hidden traps. This book dissects those, making you a more confident C programmer (hopefully). Maybe C will stop blowing up in your face as well 
Don’t forget…
These were all books on C, but the programming language doesn’t make the programmer, or the knowledge of it. You will need practice, and knowledge on many other topics, such as algorithms, data structures and program design, but these books will give a solid foundation on the C programming language.
Comments (297)